Blue Rose
by Clarisara
Summary: She was thrust into public high school two months before graduation. Angrily, she swore she would never allow anyone close to her, but when she met the elusive Shuichi, she found him impossible to avoid. Did she even want to avoid him? Kurama X OC
1. Pretty Boy

**This is a story that I began toying around with some time ago. I had been publishing it on Quizilla, but I have been frustrated with the site. There are no standards for writing. Almost every writer on there shows a complete disregard for basic things like punctuation, and grammar. *shudder***

**Anyway, I reread what I have written and I saw many flaws that I wanted to correct. I have come to love reading stories on this site, and people seem more willing to offer constructive criticism and commentary, which I am counting on. I want to improve my writing skills so I can actually get published one of these days. I look forward to seeing what others have to say about my work. :D Please, be honest with me.**

**That being said, let's get started...**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing that belongs to the creators of Yu Yu Hakusho...unfortunately.**

**Just FYI:**

***This denotes thought.***

**"This denotes dialog."**

~2nd Person Point of View~

BRRRRRIIING!

At Horikoshi High School the warning bell sounded and everyone in the hallways of your new high school began filing into classrooms. Amiable chatter had given way to hurried goodbyes and a push to get to the correct home room before it was too late. You were in no hurry. Why bother when the teachers would be lenient on your first day anyway?

Your slower movements elicited a few dirty looks as peers struggled to make their way past you, but you did not care. You took your time, looking around yourself blankly at your new prison. The walls were stark white with gray trim that ran along the middle like a banister. The carpets were a darker shade of gray with flecks of color scattered through it, and you could not help but smile faintly at the thought that the place even looked like a jailhouse.

*So this is public school,* you thought.

You paused and glanced down at the small slip of paper in your hand again to reassure yourself that you were headed toward the right classroom. By the time you pocketed it again, the final bell rang, and the few stragglers that had not been fortunate enough to beat the crowd did their best to get into their respective classrooms without being noticed by passing teachers.

Finally, you made it to the room you were told by the principal to report to. A small plate with the number two 207 hung at eye level on the heavy oak door. You let out a long breath, running your hand through your long brown hair and briefly checked your appearance. Your crisp white shirt was still tucked neatly into your maroon plaid skirt, and your matching maroon tie was still straight.

*Who thinks up these hideous uniforms,* you wondered for the hundredth time.

You pushed the door open, and, squaring your shoulders, strode into the room. There was a general rustle of books and notebooks being opened, backpacks being opened, and soft talking between some of the students. When you shut the door firmly behind you, all thirty some odd pairs of eyes zoned in on you. The teacher, a small balding man with horn-rimmed glasses, turned from the chalkboard which he had been writing on and smiled when he saw you, "Ah, you're here. Class, this is Takahashi Sayuri. She will be joining us for the remainder of the school year, so I hope that you will make her feel welcome...Have a seat, Takahashi-chan."

You said nothing, smiling politely, and found a seat near the back corner of the room where you wouldn't have to worry about people staring about the back of your head during class. The teacher did not say anything else, and you were happy that he at least did not try to get you to come to the front to introduce yourself more fully. Mr. Satou- you were informed that was his name- simply went back to smearing lines of chalk onto the blackboard. One glance at what was already written told you that your first hour would be dedicated to calculus.

*Fabulous...* you thought grimly.

When Mr. Satou finished his writing, he wiped his hands on his khaki trousers and proceeded to speak. You tried to pay attention to the lecture as the teacher droned on, but soon became bored. You looked out the window of the classroom at the blue, cloudless sky, working very hard to ignore the unsolicited stares of the people around you. Several people tried to catch your eye, but you studiously ignored them.

*It is only eight weeks,* you repeated your mantra in your head.

~After School~

You slumped down at the foot of a large tree behind the school. Finally you were alone. You rubbed your temples and tried to relax, willing your headache to recede.

"I cannot believe I will have to deal with this every day..." you muttered.

Why would anyone want to put themselves through this torture? The classes were all substandard compared to the instruction you got from your private tutors. You did not even bother to take notes while the teacher was speaking. At least if meant you could focus more time on more important things than school.

If easy classes were the extent of your problems you would not be wasting time waiting for your skull to stop beating your brain black and blue. Unfortunately, fate was not working in your favor. You had hoped that your obvious lack of interest would get people to leave you alone after the first hour or two. It did not work. Almost everyone in your class, along with several others in between sessions and at lunch seemed to take your withdrawn attitude as shyness. You were approached by jocks, cheerleaders, nerds, gangsters, goths, and all sorts of other teenage stereotypes eager to test the waters with you. You lost track of the amount of times you told people to leave you alone.

You reached in your pocket and pulled out your cell phone to check it since you had not had a chance to all day. When it finally turned on, you groaned as you noticed the new text message icon in the upper left portion of the screen. You did not even need to open it because you already knew what it said. You only ever got texts from work when they needed you to come in during the day on an emergency basis.

"Great. Just great. Somebody must have died again..." you grumbled. Why couldn't they call someone else for a change?

You stood and brushed the skirt of your uniform straight. You needed to get Underground as quickly as you could. They were probably sweating bullets wondering why you had not shown up yet. You supposed you could fire a return text to let them know you were on your way, but you did not feel like it.

*Let them sweat a little. It is not like I'll get fired,* you thought ironically.

You turned around, shouldering your bag, and started down the small grassy slope. You quickly made your way across the short field and rounded the corner of the building.

*Oh no...* you cursed your luck inwardly.

Just a few yards ahead was one of the main sources of your annoyance. It was the one group that would not leave you alone no matter how many times you shot them down. Each encounter got progressively more heated, and their words were laced with poorly disguised innuendo. The leader and self proclaimed spokesman of the group was called Sen. The only reason you knew that was because you shared your home room with him. You could only see three of them there, and you wondered briefly where the other four were. They were smoking who knows what and talking amongst themselves. They were lounging on the wooden benches there, completely at ease. You paused, not sure what to do. You were reluctant to let them confront you again, especially now that there were no witnesses present.

You were about to turn around and go the long way when one of Sen's friends spotted you and nudged him. Sen stopped mid conversation and turned to you, grinning, "Well look at this."

You kept your expression unreadable, fighting the urge to clench your teeth, or your fists. You did not know what the punishment was for fights at school, but you were not eager to find out unless you had to. You refused to meet his gaze, and returned your pace to the way it was before, that is, until the three of them stood in a line and blocked your path.

"Move," you said curtly, keeping your eyes stubbornly straight forward.

They laughed. "Move the shrimp says!" sneered the lackey on the left.

"Aw come on, Hoshi. Give the girl more than that. Even if she is a shrimp, she's a hella sexy one," Sen said still grinning down at you.

You remained silent, and tried to walk around them. You did not have time for this! You made it one step before Sen wrapped his large hand around your forearm and pulled you back, spinning you half around with the force of it. His smile was replace with a leer, and you saw a twitch on his temple.

You fought the urge to smile. *So I have been getting to him.*

After the first couple of times Sen and his gang had approached you, you made it a point to insult him in any way you could think of. It had not seemed like it made any impact on anyone in the group. He must have been waiting for the right opportunity to get you back.

"You're staying right here. You were very rude to me all day, and now you are going to make up for it," Sen growled.

Oh, how you longed to ruin his handsome angular features. It would be easy too...criminally so. You would settle for verbal beatings for now. Hopefully this little problem would not escalate further.

"Learn to live with disappointment," you said coolly as you jerked your arm out of his grip. Sen looked shocked as you slid backward out of arms reach. You did smirk now.

*Poor fool...* you thought in amusement. You spun on your heel, prepared to go back the way you came, *At least that's over...*

You barely managed to contain a cry of surprise and pain when you were jerked backward with much more force. Sen tightened his grip on your arm this time. "Who said you could leave?" he sneered, "You owe me a biiiiiig apology, and I know just what I want from you to make up for your snide comments."

~Kurama's POV~

You smiled to yourself, inhaling the fresh spring air as you loosened your tie. It was great to be outside after being stuck indoors all day, not that your work was finished. You had a meeting with Lord Koenma today and you had agreed to meet Hiei behind the school so the two of you could travel together.

Your thoughts wandered as you strolled around the front of the school building to get to your designated meeting place, not really paying attention to your surroundings until you heard voices around the corner. You could not make out what was being said, not that that mattered. You would have to find a way to get rid of them before Hiei showed up. Hiei had been reckless about how and when he appeared in the human world lately.

*Spending too much time in the Makai will do that...* you reflected.

You slowed as you approached the corner you knew they were on the other side of, still considering what to say. Suddenly you stopped dead in your tracks. The conversation that you had been deliberately ignoring before was now impossible not to over hear.

"You're staying right here. You were very rude to me all day, and now you are going to make up for it," yelled the one you recognized as Sen.

*Who managed to get on his bad side this time?* you wondered. Sen and his gang were notorious troublemakers at Horikoshi High, and anyone with half a brain in their head stayed as far from them as possible.

"Learn to live with disappointment," said a low voice. You furrowed your brow. You did not recognize the tone, though the voice was definitely female. There was a small scuffling noise, and you heard Sen let out a surprised cry.

Your curiosity piqued, you rounded the bend to see what was going on. Sen and the two of his friends had their backs to you, but you could easily see the girl who had addressed Sen. her long hair was slightly disheveled, and her eyes flashed defiantly up at her tormentors. A small smile turned one of the corners of her lips.

*She's that new girl in my Physics class!...what was her name?*

She spun on her heel, and for a split second, it looked as though you had come too late to help her. You were not given time to relax because Sen finally recovered from whatever had shocked him, and he lunged for her, snarling angrily. He dragged her back by her arm and shook her slightly as he spoke, "Who said you could leave? You owe me a biiiiiig apology, and I know just what I want from you to make up for your snide comments."

The nameless girl met his gaze with a blank expression, standing erect against the three bullies that towered over her. She did not even seem to be effected by the tight grip Sen had on her now even though you could see her thin arm going red.

"Let go of me!" she said in a cold, commanding tone.

You were perplexed by her behavior. How was she so calm? She looked like she could be easily crushed by these jerks.

You were not going to stand idly by any longer. You had to do something before this got any worse. You approached the four of them, and cleared your throat, "I believe she asked you to release her."

Sen turned to see who had interrupted, then sneered when he saw you, "Stay out of this pretty boy. We're just having a friendly conversation."

Your eyes narrowed, "You will let her go and you will leave now."

"Who do you..." one of Sen's friends started, but Sen cut him off.

"Quiet!" he snapped. He gave you a measuring look, and after a moment, thrust the girl away and ground out, "We'll finish this another time, then."

You continued to meet Sen's dark gaze as he and his two friends passed you and disappeared around the front of the school.

*Cowards.* you thought and returned your attention to the girl. She stood with her arms folded, sizing you up with the same unreadable expression she had given Sen. This was bound to be interesting.

~Sayuri's POV~

You observed the moving staring contest between Sen and this red headed stranger with growing annoyance. Any thought that the "pretty boy" as Sen described him had no ulterior motives were dashed as you saw the haughty, calculating look in his brilliant green eyes. His self assured posture and intimidating air suggested strength. This young man was used to getting his way. Based on the way he got Sen to do as he wished with little effort, it seemed he often did.

As Sen and his two friends disappeared from view, the red head turned his focus to you. His demeanor calmed and softened, and he gave you a wry smile, "You'll want to avoid them for the next week if you can. I am sorry this happened to you," he walked toward you and offered his hand, " Shuichi Minamino. I believe we share a class." Thinking back you realized he was right. You vaguely remembered his long red hair.

You were not taken in by his attempt to win your favor, so you ignored the proffered hand . He had already shown you what he was really like. "Why did you bother?" you asked irritably, "I was handling the situation."

He blinked in surprise, "Excuse me?"

"I can take care of myself, thank you. I don't need the help of some boy with more feminine qualities than a lot of girls I could mention," you seethed vehemently, and with that you turned on your heel, and strode away, wanting to put as much distance between yourself and those egotistical males as you could.

**So... my main character seems to have the attitude of ten moody teenagers put together. Trust me, there was a point to that. I am not going to put Kurama with a brat. There is a lot more to Sayuri than meets the eye. I hope all will be made clear for you soon. :D**


	2. Bad Luck

**Okey dokey****! Are you ready for my grand excuse? I had midterm exams to study for... :P All that studying has turned me into a very tired person. That, and the refining I did on this chapter took real effort. In the first chapter, you probably noticed that Sayuri has a cynical attitude about everything and everyone. Now you get a peek into why she is that way. I hated writing it, honestly. Her life is so depressing, that I need comfort food just to get me through typing it. **

**I will warn everyone ahead of time that if you don't want to read about physical abuse, or alcohol, you should skip part of the first section. I did not go into gory detail, but if it makes you uncomfortable** **I will not be offended if you skip a bit. Just don't skip the whole thing because there are important elements that will come into play in later chapters. **

**Thank you for those who reviewed my story. I appreciated it. I hope switching between different points of view will not be too confusing. I will try to make the transitions as smooth as possible. For the moment, I will only switch between Sayuri and Kurama, but later I will include other characters. Why? Because I like putting myself in a position where I need to think like the characters. Hee hee..**

**Disclaimer: Ownership of YYH is not mine, which is a cause of great mourning for me.**

**Remember: *Thoughts* "Speaking"  
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~Sayuri's POV~

You shut and locked the front door behind you, stifling a yawn. Absentmindedly, you untucked your now wrinkled uniform shirt, and loosened the maroon tie letting your facade slip away. The risk of anyone seeing you was finally gone. You slumped your shoulders wearily and allowed the silent tears that had threatened to overwhelm you all evening tumble down your cheeks.

"Callahan..." you choked softly. Why did it have to be him? Why did he have to die?

Now you felt guilty for having a bad attitude at your first day of school. You might not have agreed with Callahan's decision to have you enrolled, but he had your best interest at heart...actually, he was the only person who had expressed any genuine interest in your welfare in a long time, and he was gone. You would never see him again.

*And then the Organization had to go and send _him_ to replace Callahan...* you thought bitterly.

Horoshi, Callahan's replacement, was a cruel man who enjoyed his line of work too much. The two of you were enemies from the day you were sent to work for the Organization five years ago. Horoshi was the one who broke the news to you about your former supervisor. Discovering that you would be his subordinate was a double blow, and you would not stand for it. You quit. You ignored the protests of your colleagues, and the barrage of calls that you got on your cell phone from the higher ups trying to convince you to change your mind. You would _not_ go back to work until someone else- anyone else!- took the job.

The sound of tires screeching into the driveway caused you to jump slightly and you remembered, *That's right...he was due to come home tonight.* You swallowed, and composed yourself quickly, making sure there was no visible sign that you had returned. It was a good thing you had not turned on any lights yet.

That done, you scrambled down the hall and up the stairs to your bedroom as silently as possible. Hopefully, your father would think you were at work or asleep and would not bother to come up to find you. You stood behind your door and closed your eyes, willing your breathing to even out as you bunched fists into your skirt and waited. Several tense moments passed before the front door opened and slammed shut. *Please don't call for me...* you begged silently. More silence followed...and then more. When you were sure he would not call for you, you relaxed, and stepped out from your hiding place. You tossed your backpack in the corner, kicked off your shoes, and, falling face forward onto your mattress, heaved a relieved sigh.

The idea of getting up to change into pajamas seemed like too much effort, so you didn't bother. You let yourself begin to drift off almost immediately, relishing the thought that at least you would not have to worry about juggling school and working all night. It had been too long since you last had a full night's sleep.

Suddenly, the sound of breaking glass in your doorway filled your ears and you jumped to your feet reflexively in a defensive stance as you searched for the source of the sound.

"Thhhought you'd hhhide ffrom me?" slurred the silhouette of your father from the doorway.

*I forgot to shut and lock my door!* you realized in horror.

The scent of alcohol washed over you, making your eyes water. You blinked at the overpowering aroma, swallowed the bile in your throat and called out, "Dad? I..I didn't realize you were home..." He began to stagger toward you, muttering profanities under his breath. You willed your legs to move. How were you going to get out of this one? "W-would you like me to get you some more sake, or beer?" you offered tentatively.

Now he was towering over you, staring down with hate in his eyes. He did not answer you, reaching out to grab your shirt. Your legs obeyed you just in time to avoid him. When he missed his cursing intensified, and his face twisted murderously. You did not stop backing away. Perhaps if you put enough distance between the two of you, you could get around him.

"Where doo yoou thhink yoou're going?" he shouted, and lunged, closing the distance between the two of you once more.

"No! Don't! Whatever you want! I-I'll get it!" you squeaked out as you tripped over yourself staring at his raised fist. You were so focused on him that you were startled when you felt the wood of your dresser press into your back. You whipped your head around frantically for an escape route already knowing that it was too late. Your father's fist was speeding toward you. You barely ducked in time to avoid it, but were unable to escape a well-placed kick to your abdomen immediately afterward. You doubled over coughing with unwanted tears squeezing out of your eyes. Your dad laughed cruelly, raising his fist again.

"No Daddy! Please!" you screamed.

~Next Monday- Still Sayuri's POV~

You leaned wearily against one of the pillars at the side entrance of the school wheezing painfully. You rested your forehead on the cool concrete and closed your eyes willing your surroundings to stop spinning. It was only three days since your father's beating and your body had had little time to recover before school. Luckily, you knew how to maneuver so that he only hit you in places where no one could see the bruising. The only visible evidence of your ordeal was a swollen lip, and a dark bruise on the side of your face.

*I've got to be more careful,* you thought grimly. You only had yourself to blame for your predicament. You should not have left your door unlocked when you knew your father would likely come home drunk.

You looked up as a small group of students came to the place where you stood. It did not take long for their happy chatter to switch to hushed whispers when they noticed your face.

You smiled darkly which caused your cracked lip to bleed once more, "Enjoying yourselves?"

They went completely silent and hurried into the building nervously, averting their eyes from you. You chuckled humorlessly. If your taciturn attitude did not drive everyone away last Friday, you were sure your wounds would brand you as a trouble maker. No one would want to associate with you now, and so what? That was what you wanted in the first place.

You blinked out a drop of sweat that ran into your eye, trying to work up the fortitude to move forward once more since the warning bell had just sounded. How would you get through the crowd of people without betraying the fact that you were far more injured than you appeared to be? All the jostling and pushing in the hallways would not make it easy to hide... You decided to move around to the back and approach your classroom that way. That route was a bit out of the way, and you would be late, but there were fewer people to run into.

Reluctantly, you pushed yourself from the pillar and made your way painfully up the slight slope that led to the edge of the school building. *One step at a time...* you encouraged yourself.

You were concentrating so hard on remaining upright, that you did not notice Sen and his gang until you heard a dark laugh behind you. "Well hello, Sayuri-chan."

You turned around slowly to see Sen leering at you with his group of lackeys...all seven of them. The situation was too convenient for them to have just showed up for school together, especially since they all had different homerooms. You realized they must have been waiting for you to show up. *Great...just peachy...*

"Do you morons ever take a hint?" you growled irritably.

Sen ignored your comment addressing his group instead, "Looks like someone beat us to her boys."

You weighed the situation carefully, taking in the positions and postures of the group. All of them were spreading out to surround you, tensed and ready to spring. They were obviously amateurs at the art of ambush and fighting in general, but they had numbers on their side, as well as muscle... Your injuries added to their advantage, and you mentally cursed your luck. The one time you would have been happy to have people around was the one time that it would never happen. The final bell rang and everyone would be in class by now.

Sen and his friends laughed again and started to approach you. *Perfect! I am too weak to defend myself adequately.* Not that you would not try.

Despite the pain you were in, you dodged as the one closest to you reached out to grab you, and punched him as hard as you could in the nose. You were satisfied to feel it break under your fist. He screamed, grasping his face as he stumbled backward and slammed into one of his buddies. You spun and began to half hobble, half run toward the back entrance to the school hoping that you would at least be fast enough to make it inside before they caught you. It grated on your nerves to run away like this, but what choice did you have?

Just as you rounded the bend you were grabbed forcibly from behind and Sen reeled you around. You blinked out the spots of light that came into your vision. Pain erupted from your rib cage and back sending shock waves down your arms and legs. You cried out as your pain doubled when he twisted your arm hard, forcing you to kneel.

You gasped, and your muscles quivered in protest to the fresh abuse *No! I cannot give in!* you thought desperately.

"Come on. Let's go find a little private corner to continue our previous conversation," hinted Sen leaning close to your ear.

"No!" you protested, struggling against him, and against the blackness that crept into your vision. Two more sets of hands grabbed you, pinning you tighter to the ground.

*This really is not my week!* you thought ironically before you passed out.

*Kurama's POV*

You sped along the sidewalk in a foul mood. Koenma's mission had lasted all weekend long, and as exhausted as you were, you had accidentally slept in. You were going to be late for school thanks to your carelessness. You were about to turn the last corner that would lead to the front of the school when something made you stop short for the second time in three days. It was Sen's voice coming from behind the building. They were not hard to hear since there was none of the usual cacophony from other students. From the sound of things he was with his friends, heading out to the storage buildings behind the school.

*He's ditching again,* you thought offhandedly.

You were about to keep going, thinking that he was just up to his usual antics of smoking and defacing public property, when you got the feeling that something wasn't right. The whole gang was acting very smug and secretive about something. Against your initial desire to make it to the school before you missed too much class, you turned and followed the sound of Sen's voice.

When Sen and his friends came into view you found a place in the shadows near the storage sheds where you would be well hidden from their view. They were standing in a semicircle, with their backs to you blocking your view of what lay beyond. Sen was chuckling, "I can't wait," and his gang muttered in agreement.

*I don't have time for this,* you thought in frustration after they had waited motionless for several minutes. You were about to leave for class when Sen spoke again.

"Well, well. Welcome back little Sayuri... You two pick her up. I want the little slut to look me in the eye."

You snapped your head back around to see two teens reach down and lift a battered Sayuri by the arms to a standing position. Her lip was swollen, and blood trickled down her chin and dripped to the ground. You also saw a black bruise on the left side of her face. The pain in her features was obvious, yet she still stared at Sen as defiantly and fearlessly as last Friday. Your knees locked together, and your stomach turned at the sight of the poor girl.

"Now, what shall we do first?" Sen mused rocking back on his heels, "Whatever your punishment is, it has to be good..."

Sayuri raised her voice tremulously above the ruckus of replies, "You might think you have won, Sen, but if you don't let me go, I'll make your life a living h***!" she threatened.

The group laughed wildly as Sen punched her hard across the face, "You need to learn some manners!" he snarled, and then kicked her in the chest. She crashed into the wall of the storage building with a sickening sound as the two boys that were holding her released her arms and ducked out of Sen's way.

Your shock quickly turned into anger as Sayuri attempted valiantly to stand once more, but failed and collapsed again at the feet of her assailants.

You stepped out of the shadows and ground out, "This has gone far enough!"

One of the lackeys, Hoshi, groaned, "You again?"

Your lips curved upward in a slight snarl, "Me again," and with that you ran directly into the center of Sen's gang and began to attack them before they had a chance to recover from their surprise.

~Sayuri's POV~

You watched, dumbfounded, as the red head wove in and out of the gang standing above you, dodging all their inept attempts to defend themselves as he cut them down with a level of skill you never would have suspected him to have. The fight was over in less than a minute, ending with all of Sen's gang either unconscious on the ground or running away as fast as their legs could carry them. Only Sen was left trembling-whether with anger or fear you weren't sure-staring at Shuichi.

Sen howled defeatedly, "You A**hole!"

Shuichi regarded him coldly, "I suggest you leave." Sen turned and ran.

Your vision began to swim again as you watched Sen disappear from view, so you let your head fall back down. Waves of humiliation and pain washed over you, as you fought the urge to cry. Why was he helping you like this? Why did you have to be so weak? You had just proven to him that you were completely incapable of getting yourself out of trouble contrary to your harsh words to him several days ago. How could you face him?

You tensed slightly slightly as you heard his footfalls grinding on the gravel toward you. There was a small pause before you felt tentative fingers on your spine and then your ribs, probing gently. You flinched each time his hand came in contact with your injuries.

"Well, there are no broken bones..." Shuichi said softly after he finished, "I am going to turn you over. I am sorry if this hurts."

It did hurt, but you bit your lip to keep any sound from escaping from you. Again, you were surprised to note his strength as he easily he lifted you, as if you were nothing more than a stuffed toy. When he finished flipping you over, he braced you gently in his arms and stood carrying you bridal style. You forced your eyes open and looked into his sympathetic face.

"We'll get you into the office. The school will want to call the hospital and your parents," he said.

"NO!" you used what little strength you had left to grasp his arm. He could not do that! Your father could have no reason to suspect you told anyone his secrets. Not only that, if your father found out you were admitted to the hospital he would discover you had quit your job. Not to mention the beating that would await you when he found out a group of amateurs had managed to over power you.

Surprise flickered across Shuichi's features, "You're hurt. You need medical attention."

You could feel yourself slipping under so you gripped him more desperately, no longer caring what the red head thought of you, "No…not there…please..."

Your vision went black.


	3. Unwanted Help

**Here's the scoop: I had to completely revamp this part of the story so it took me a while to make it better. I was not as careful about keeping Sayuri true to character before, and I also started introducing flashbacks to Sayuri's past...mostly because I am a lazy writer and I do not want to take up a huge amount of time giving the shpeel all in one swoop. This will give readers something to look forward to right? :D **

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own YYH...including affiliated characters...plotlines...etc.**

**"This means dialog"**

***This means thoughts***

_**This means flashback**._

*Kurama's POV*

"Konichiwa, is this the principal's office? ... Yes, I can hold... Arigato," You heard your mother speak softly into the receiver from the front of the house, and you smiled. From the sound of things you would not have to worry about an unexcused absence from class.

As quickly as it came, your smile vanished, and you turned your attention to the still unconscious girl lying on your bed.

*Why am I allowing myself to get so involved with her?* you berated yourself again.

Normally, you would just let the teachers handle the situation... but the way her trembling fingers grasped at your shirt, and the frantic desperation that creased her face had thrown you off guard. In that moment she radiated an energy that you had never felt before in anyone, human and demon alike. It was so fleeting you were not sure you felt it at all, but the mere chance was enough to pique your interest, and that was when you decided to take her to your house.

"This was the closest place I could get to, Mother," you had told her when you got home with your classmate in your arms. Then you told her the girl was attacked by a neighborhood gang, bending the story just enough to convince her that calling for an ambulance was not the best idea. A lack of funds was more than enough reason to hesitate, and the desperation that your taciturn classmate displayed was real enough to give you cause to believe that just might be the case. Gladly, your mother did not push the issue after a few quick questions to confirm your tale. You felt somewhat guilty, as you always did for keeping the entirety of the truth from her, but if she knew that you had run with your unconscious classmate through the back alleys across town she might not be as apt to let the girl in.

You stood, agitated, and strode over to your window, looking out onto the street below. In a way, you could not believe your mother bought your explanation so easily. You were not entirely convinced this was a good idea yourself, but you could not think of anywhere else to bring her. Absentmindedly, you fingered the rose you had tucked away in your hair. Demon energy sparked at your finger tips as you did, sending a thrill up your arm. You mulled the situation over in your head...You wanted to know what that strange energy was emanating from her, but you were not sure how to proceed without revealing your demonic origins to her. How could you expect to trust her with that kind of information when you did not even know her name? You did not want to involve Koenma in this because you were not sure it was even an issue he needed to be bothered with...yet.

A soft moan sounded behind you, startling you out of your reverie, and you let go of the rose, turning to face the girl in your bed.

*Sayuri's POV*

You opened your eyes slowly, wondering at the strange room you found yourself in. It was a generic bedroom with white walls and plain oak furniture. Other than a calendar on the wall, and a few textbooks stacked neatly on the desk to your right, there was no real indication that anyone lived here. You turned your head to discover someone with long red hair standing with his back to you near the window fingering his hair.

*Who…Where am I?* you wondered. He looked so familiar...You twisted your body a bit to try and get a better view of the redhead, and gasped at the pain it caused. You closed your eyes, and focused on deep, even breathing.

"You're awake. Good." You opened your eyes again to see none other than Shuichi looking down on you sympathetically, "How are you feeling?"

You stared back at him in incredulously. You had to be hallucinating. You just had to be. There was no way he was here...

Your face colored, "I was...and you...and then...did you..." you stuttered, trying to get your tongue to work properly in your mouth, "What are you doing here!"

He chuckled ironically, "Well, I do live here..."

Your jaw dropped, "Are you out of your mind?"

"What do you mean?" he asked softly, his expressive eyes slipping into an emotionless mask of indifference.

You shook your head slightly in disbelief, "Don't pretend you have no idea what I am talking about. You went out of your way to help me even though I wanted nothing to do with you. There is no guarantee I will return the favor, or even take back my previous sentiments. Why are you doing this?"

He folded his arms, still keeping up his facade, "I suspect you would not believe me if I told you I did it out of the kindness of my heart."

"You're darn right," you muttered,*I have to get out of here,* you thought, *Where ever here is...*

You tried to sit up, but found it impossible and fell back on the bed with a small cry. Your head swam and your vision blurred dangerously, but you refused to give in to the waves of sharp stabbing pain. When your eyes focused once more, Shuichi was leaning over you, bracing your neck firmly as the tension from your muscle spasms died down. His brow creased with worry.

"Don't try to move. You were hurt a lot more than you probably realized," he paused, released you, and took a healthy step back before he continued, "I really should take you to the hospital, or to your home. Your parents are probably worried."

You felt panic rise at the thought. Both options would be disastrous. If your father came home from the trip he was on and saw you the way you were, he would grow suspicious. He would know which wounds were not inflicted by him. It would be even worse if you got sent to the hospital. Then he would be sure that something was up. He would find out that you had left the Organization. At least with you gone for a few days, he could assume you were working.

"No!" Then you softened your voice, "For reasons I cannot explain, I'd really rather not."

Shuichi was slightly taken aback by your reaction but after a moment he nodded. "Very well…"

"Shuichi, darling, are you making a nuisance of yourself?"

You turned your head to see a mild-mannered woman standing in the doorway holding bandages and assorted medical supplies.

"I'm trying not to mother," Shuichi said affectionately. Looking back at the redhead, his entire demeanor changed yet again. He was smiling warmly, and his whole body relaxed comfortably. His mother had the same adoring look for her son, and you could not help but feel a small pang at the sight.

"Well, why don't you go eat? Lunch is on the table for you."

"Thank you," he said, and strode out of the room without a backwards glance.

When Shuichi had left Mrs. Minamino turned back to you, "My Shuichi's such a good kid," she smiled.

You stared blankly at her for a moment then asked, "Does he bring in strays like me often?"

She laughed, "He's got a big heart. He took care of me a lot while I was sick. He never complained once, so I don't mind helping out a friend. Besides, from what I understand you were in a really tight spot."

"You could call it that," you said noncommittally.

"I hope you don't mind sleeping in my son's room," she continued cheerfully, completely unaffected by your incredulity,"He'll sleep on a spare futon until you are able to go back home," she set the tray down on the nearby desk and pulled the covers down to begin inspecting your wounds.

"I won't be here long," you gritted your teeth as she lifted bandages and probed your injuries.

"Nonsense. You can stay as long as you need to. It will be nice to have someone to talk to," she sighed and tsked at a particularly nasty bruise on your ribcage, "How anyone could be so cruel to another human being is beyond me..."

*This lady must not live in the real world...* you thought disparagingly. You could list plenty of people who would not give that sort of thing a second thought. Cruelty was an inevitable part of life.

"By the way, dear," Shuichi's mother spoke up after several moments of silence, "What is your name? Shuichi neglected to tell me."

"Oh..." you blinked in surprise, "I'm Sayuri."

"What a pretty name," she smiled at you and pulled the covers back up to your neck, "I would have loved to have a daughter named Sayuri."

"Thank you," you mumbled.

The woman's ready smile surfaced again, "Well, you will not be disturbed anymore today. Sleep is the best medicine in the world, after all."

When she left, she shut the door softly behind her, and you stared at it for a long time, contemplating your situation. You still could not believe that Shuichi brought you into his home. He barely knew you. Try as you might, you could not figure it out.

Then there were his mood swings. They were subtle, but they were there. His emotions were buried under layers of careful masks, in such complexity that you had never read in another person. He was impossible to read, and it was driving you crazy. How were you supposed to discover his motives so you could anticipate his next move?

"No one does something for nothing..." you whispered to yourself.

More than ever you wanted to leave, and find a quiet hotel where you could recuperate. True, you might owe Shuichi Minamino, but you had no intention of incurring more debt than you already had. If you could manage it, you would never have to associate with him outside class again. Even better, you would never have to see him again after high school graduation.

With your mind made up to leave that night, you allowed yourself to relax. You might as well sleep now and let the pain of your injuries die down. Moving was not going to be fun, but you had been through much worse.

_"No! I don't want to do it! You can't make me!" _

_CRASH! _

_The girl swiped the things from the desk onto the floor, in a fit of rage. The adults in the room did not react to it, remaining in their chairs like expressionless mannequins. The man behind the desk that she directed her verbal attack at was grinning and holding out a gun. "Come now, you would not want us to tell your father you were not willing to cooperate, would you?" He set the gun down and slid it closer to her. _

_She recoiled as if the weapon was alive, "I can't kill him! I'll get intel for you! I'll bring him in for trial!" _

_The man behind the desk leaned back in his chair, amusement plastered on his features, "I am afraid that is not an option. The subject is just too dangerous." _

_"Then have someone else do it!" _

_"No. You work for this organization, and it is time for you to assume your full responsibility." _

_"No!" _

_"Have you forgotten that we own you? Until your contract runs out, we can do anything we want with you." _

_She shuddered, but set her jaw stubbornly, "I will not kill people for you." _

_"Not even if we tell Mr. Takahashi about your impudence?" _

_She folded her arms and stared defiantly around the room, "What you are asking is wrong." _

_The mannequins leaned over to speak with one another in hushed tones. _

_The man behind the desk only laughed, "Well, this should be amusing...Guard, take her to a holding cell, and you...get the girl's father on the line. He will want to know that she is not going to be home for a while."_

You woke with your heart hammering so hard you could feel your pulse in your finger tips. Adrenaline had your limbs itching to move, while your injuries throbbed mercilessly. the room was pitch black, but you closed your eyes anyway and took some deep shuddering breaths. When your body finally regulated itself, you opened them again and brought your arm up to look at the glowing digital display on your wrist. Three in the morning... It should be late enough.

You slowly disentangled yourself from the sheets and moved to a sitting position, nerves screaming for you to stop the movement and lay back on the bed. Refusing to pay attention to the pain, you slid off the bed and onto the floor and felt around for your belongings. One shoe...a little disjointed crawling...your bag...and your tie was on top of it...your other shoe...

*Perfect. That's everything...* you allowed a small smile and forced your protesting limbs to move once more. Half an hour later according to your watch, you had put yourself completely back together and made it to a standing position.

You hardly dared breathe as you listened for signs of movement on the other side of the bedroom door. After several minutes of hearing nothing, you crept across the room and cringed as the hinges creaked. You waited again just in case Shuichi or his mother were light sleepers. After several more minutes passed and all you heard was the passing of an occasional car outside and the ticking of a clock in the hallway, you moved forward once more. You would have waited longer, but the longer you stood still with your school bag on your shoulder, the faster your pain escalated.

*At this rate, I will have to rest within the hour...* you gritted your teeth at the deep throbbing that penetrated every inch of your frame, and wiped shakily at the small beads of sweat that were forming on your forehead.

Keeping your hand on the wall next to you, you shuffled forward as quietly as you could. You could not help but hope that you would find your way out of there quickly. You wanted to be long gone before too many people got out on the street. When you reached a corner you peeked around it slowly, taking in the dimly lit space. You could not help but grin when you saw the outline of a door next to the window. This was going to be easier than you thought. You picked up your pace slightly and stretched out your hand until you felt the cool metal of the door knob.

"Where do you think you are going at this hour?"

You lowered your hand, but did not turn around, "I don't see how that is your business, Minamino-san."

You heard his approaching footsteps, "When someone under my roof, under my care does something this foolish, it is certainly my business, _Sayuri_." Before you could move to stop him, his arm snaked around to your bag, and he lifted it over your shoulder and out of your reach.

You turned to face him angrily, "Don't use my name as though you know me," you hissed, "and give me my bag."

"I saw the extent of your injuries," he said flatly, "Going out like that in the middle of the night is suicidal."

Your heart skipped a beat, *He saw!* you realized. Perfect...Now he had even more leverage over you. You clenched your fists, "Watch me," you reached again for the knob behind you. You could always get a different bag.

Before you could react, Shuichi dropped the bag in his arms and closed the distance between the two of you. You saw the silhouette of his arm shoot by you and a small thump signaled his weight falling on the door, blocking your path. You leaned against the door, as far away from him as possible, and the sudden shift in position made you see stars. It took all your will power not to manifest any change in your posture or breathing.

"There is a limit to my generosity. If I have to bodily put you back in bed, I will," he was close enough that you could see the intensity of his gaze on you.

"Why are you so intent on putting me in your debt?" you whispered angrily.

"Why are you so intent on hiding your injuries from the very people who can help you? Doctors...parents...teachers..."

"You didn't answer me," you equivocated.

"And you haven't answered any of my questions," he countered, "Let's try this one: Where did you get the other injuries?"

"What are you talking about?"

"I had to check to make sure it was not too dangerous to move you. I can tell the difference between a fresh bruise and one that is several days old," he said.

By now your body was begging for you to shift positions, punctuating it's protestations at your abuse by sending sharp waves of pain from your spine to your extremities. You trembled in your effort to remain upright.

"I do not owe you any sort of explanation."

Shuichi gave an exasperated sigh, "You really are determined to turn me into a villain, aren't you?"

Right then your traitorous legs gave out from underneath you, forcing you to reach out and grab the very source of your annoyance. You tried to right yourself, but it was too late. Shuichi wrapped his arms gingerly around you and lifted you bridal style, heading back the way you had so painstakingly come.

**Well, Sayuri is going to be helped whether she wants to be or not...It will be good for her. Heh heh...sorry. Sometimes I am mean to my characters. :D**


	4. NewFriends?

**Okay, I was so encouraged by all the positive feedback have been getting over the last several days that I neglected my homework to post this. I hope that you enjoy it. This chapter is a bit fluffier, and no violence occurs. (Shocking, I know.) Sayuri is starting to undergo a change, which makes me happy as the writer because I can only focus on making her an emo chick for so long. :P There will be no flashbacks in this chapter because it is too long, and I really do need to start on my school work or I will fail one of my classes. That would be bad.**

**Disclaimer: Just the usual junk. I don't own YYH yadda yadda yadda...**

***Denotes thought***

**"Talking"**

~Sayuri's POV~

You were never given another chance to leave after that. Shuichi deliberately watched over you until you fell asleep at night, and woke up before you did in the morning. It did not matter that Shuichi went to school during the day either because Mrs. Minamino was determined to fuss over and spend time with you. She checked the poultices on your bruises multiple times a day, fed you, played cards with you, and when her work was done in the house, she would just sit and talk. Mostly, you just listened as she told you about her home, her family, her husband and stepson( the former was away on an extended business trip, and the latter was away at boarding school in Kyoto), the weather, and anything else that popped into her head. You sensed it was because she did not want you to be alone that she did this, not because she was an incurable chatterbox.

In spite of yourself, you looked forward to her coming into the room early in the morning with her cheerful smile and a tray of breakfast. You had never been given breakfast in bed, and you felt more than a little spoiled.

By the time Friday rolled around you felt well enough to get out of bed for more than a few minutes at a time so you started helping Shuichi's mom with chores around the house. At first she protested.

"You are still injured, and I would not like to be the one to face my son if you were hurt any worse," she said trying to be light-hearted.

You shook your head, "I am not talking about doing the hard things, but I would like to feel useful. Think of it as my way of saying thank you," you offered her a small smile, one that you reserved only for her.

When Shuichi came home from school that day with his usual double load of books-half of them were yours- you were sitting in front of the table chopping vegetables for dinner while Mrs. Minamino ran errands in town.

He set both of your homework down and asked, "What are you doing?"

You glanced up, and noted his mild annoyance with satisfaction, "I'm chopping vegetables for dinner."

You kept up with your task even as he tried to take the knife from your grasp. You were healed enough to have use of your reflexes again, so you artfully dodged his grasp while continuing with your work.

"Hand it over," he said firmly.

You worked hard to keep your expression from showing your amusement as you quirked an eyebrow, "Obviously, if my reflexes are good enough again to dodge you I am well enough to chop leeks. How long do you intend to keep me here anyway?"

He sighed and sat heavily across from you, "At least a few more days. I have to make sure you have healed enough before you go...Do you mind me asking how you learned to handle a knife like that?" he asked curiously.

"Culinary schooling," you said shortly, "My father is away on business a lot, so I fend for myself."

"I see..." he said.

"Speaking of my father, he will be home this weekend, so I will need to call and let him know where I am," you said.

"I was under the impression you did not want him to know you were here," said Shuichi in confusion.

"He doesn't answer his phone when he is away," you stated matter-of-factually.

"Do you want to call now?" he asked.

"It can wait until tonight. He isn't home yet."

You waited until Shuichi was in the shower, and Mrs. Minamino was occupied in the other room before you made the call.

The phone only rang twice before your father answered, "Where the hell are you?" his tone was deadly.

"I was unavoidably detained," You stated evenly.

He cursed, "Another d*** raid...fine. I know how long those take."

"Yes, sir," you said.

"Don't think I have forgotten about your assessment. Just because those fools you work for think you should attend public high school, doesn't mean you can slack off here,"

"Yes, sir," you said again.

The line went dead.

You were back in school by Monday, but if you expected Shuichi to leave you alone, you were sorely disappointed. He found you at your locker, and called out to you waving.

Several people stared as he approached you, and you hissed, "What do you think you are doing?"

He smiled warmly, "Following you."

You rubbed your temples, "Why am I not surprised? Look, Shuichi...As much as I appreciate your help last week, I don't need you following me around like a glorified guard dog."

He only laughed, "So you are telling me the next time you have a run in with Sen others won't notice? The teachers would get involved...you could go to the hospital..."

You huffed and slammed the locker door, starting for your homeroom. Shuichi followed you, easily keeping up despite your quickened pace. You ignored him. When you reached the door to your homeroom he slid smoothly in front of you before you could reach the handle, and opened it for you.

You clenched, and unclenched your fists, praying for patience. Why was he being so difficult?

"By the way," he said as you began to pass him, "Mother told me to invite you to dinner tomorrow night." He swept off without another word leaving you speechless.

He was back to walk with you between classes and he sat with you during lunch, much to your consternation. By the time he picked you up at the end of the day your temper had reached a boiling point.

"Would you leave me alone!" you burst out when you got outside the building.

"No," he said folding his arms.

"Why are you being so difficult!" you exclaimed mirroring your thoughts from earlier.

"Sen is staying away from you now, isn't he?"

"Great, so I get to trade one stalker for another."

"Is it really so horrible that I want to be your friend?" he asked facing you.

"There is no such thing as friends," you said with narrow eyes.

"Will you be coming to dinner tomorrow?" he asked, changing the subject as a crowd of students walked by.

You put your hand to your head, "You are not going to let this go, are you?"

"We will be serving dinner around 7 PM."

"It doesn't matter what I say?"

"Mother is making Bento Boxes."

"It wouldn't even matter if I threatened you with physical harm?"

Shuichi only smiled, "I will see you tomorrow morning here in front of the school."

True to his word, Shuichi found you before classes started, and the same routine as the day before commenced. Anytime you were not in the classroom, Shuichi was there to guide you to where ever you needed to be next.

You did end up going to dinner over at the Minamino's home, and not just once. Over the course of the next two weeks you went over to visit on six different occasions. Even if Shuichi annoyed you, you enjoyed the company of his mother. She was so sweet to you, and you found you could believe in friendship contrary to what you had said before...as long as it was between the two of you. Shuichi's presence you tolerated, and it was not long before you gave up trying to evade or insult him. He was about as impervious to it as a rock. Why fight when he would not even react to the abuse?

~Kurama's POV~

You smiled thoughtfully to yourself. It had been two weeks since you had begun spending time with Sayuri at school, and she was turning out to be a very interesting individual. You never found yourself bored in her presence anyway. She always acted so serious and tough around others. Any display of emotion was rare if not nonexistent. She was worse than Hiei if that were possible.

Your mother had grown quite attached to her. Even though Sayuri had recovered sufficiently, she kept inviting her over. It was as if Sayuri had suddenly become the daughter that she never had. For some inexplicable reason, Sayuri seemed to feel the same way. She softened so much in your mother's presence. It was like she were a totally different person, and you were not sure that Sayuri even realized the change that came over her. She actually smiled once or twice when she thought you weren't looking.

You did not let it show, but you were getting frustrated that you had not been able to discover the reason for the outburst of strange energy you had felt from her before. Nor had you felt it since. You told yourself to be patient. She did not trust you enough for you to ask her outright, so you continued doggedly on, both shielding her from Sen's impending revenge, and hoping for a breakthrough.

You sighed. That girl was so mysterious. You did sense a great deal of spirit energy emanating from her, but you had no idea where it was coming from. She was too small built to be very strong physically, and even if there was more of it than an average human would possess, it was not an inconceivable amount. Kuwabara and his older sister had more spiritual awareness than she did. She was definitely hiding something, but you didn't press her. Some puzzles were best solved a piece at a time.

Just then the lunch bell rang. You stood, grabbed your bag and headed out the classroom door. You waited as Sayuri gathered her things and spoke with the teacher about her homework. Perhaps it was time to ask for outside help.

*Sayuri's POV*

You walked beside Shuichi silently on the way to lunch enjoying the silence between the two of you. That was one nice thing about Shuichi's guard dog tendencies. You never had to worry about getting stuck in a conversation with him when you were not in the mood to talk. You ignored the icy glares and whispers as the two of you walked. You were still slightly annoyed that he had insisted on escorting you where ever you went, but you also knew that you needed to avoid Sen and his gang…not necessarily because you could not handle yourself, but because rumors of why you had missed so much school had been circulating and you did not want any more attention drawn to yourself. Sen was sure to corner you again if you went out on your own and you were sure that the principal would insist on calling your father if you got into another fight whether you had started it or not.

After the two of you got your lunch you decided to break the silence. You sighed and set your try down next to Shuichi's. "So where are you headed after school today?" you asked mildly.

Shuichi just shrugged, "I'll probably be meeting a few of my friends at the park today. Why do you ask?"

That surprised you. You had been spending so much time with him recently that it had not occurred to you that he might have better things to do than spend his time with you. You had never really bothered to ask. You assumed he just didn't hang out with anyone else because you had never seen him hanging out with anyone here aside from yourself.

You realized after a moment you had not answered him, so you said hastily, "No reason," and became very interested in your food. Why did the thought of Shuichi doing something different annoy you all of a sudden?

Shuichi had stopped eating and looked at you thoughtfully. There was a bit of an awkward silence, and then Shuichi cleared his throat and asked, "Would you like to come, Sayuri?"

That caught you by surprise, and you looked up at him sharply, "Are you serious?" you asked incredulously.

He smiled, "Why not? Unless you have somewhere else to be…"

You bit your lip and looked down at your food. Why were you suddenly nervous? You had been in plenty of more difficult and dangerous situations than you were in right now. *For goodness sake I've stared death I the face! What's wrong with me?*

"You mean, as in, hanging out?" you stuttered quietly.

You could feel Shuichi's eyes on you, "You don't have to come, you know."

"I'll come." you blurted trying to hide the faint blush that was creeping up to your cheeks. Why were you blushing? He had invited you to spend time with him plenty of times over the last two weeks...but never alone...never with other people your age, and if you were asked to do so when you first showed up at the school, you would have turned him down cold.

*What if Father finds out?* a little voice in your head warned. *He won't. He won't be in town again until this tomorrow.* you countered your own nagging worry.

Shuichi smiled and both of you went back to eating your lunch in silence.

*Yusuke's POV*

"Where is he?" you growled in annoyance, "Kurama's never been this late before!"

"Yeah!" whined Kuwabara, "What's taking so long? He'd better get here soon or this whole day off will be totally wasted!"

It was not often that Koenma gave all of you a day off. It was also not often that demon activity here in the human world was so quiet. You had been looking forward to today for over a week now.

*This is really starting to piss me off!* you thought in annoyance.

"Where is he, Hiei? You're the one who has the creepy all seeing eye." you snapped.

He didn't even look down at you from his perch on the tree above you, "Hn."

"Argh! Is that all you ever have to say? Come on!"

"Uh…Yusuke?"

"Not now Kuwabara!" you snapped.

"Yusuke…"

"What?" You turned to face him, but he wasn't even looking at you. He was, in fact, staring bug-eyed in an entirely different direction with his mouth dangling on the ground. "What the…?"

You turned to see what it was that he was staring at and joined him when you saw the two individuals walking toward you. One of them was Kurama and there was nothing really surprising or special about that. It was the girl that was beside him that had both you and Kuwabara goggling. She was the most beautiful girl you had ever seen in your life.

~Sayuri's POV~

Shuichi pointed to the group of three guys just ahead, "That's them."

He had spent the last fifteen minutes while the two of you had been walking to the park from the school telling you about his friends, Hiei, Kuwabara, and Yusuke. You didn't let Shuichi know it, but you drank in all of the information like water. It was a habit of yours to analyze people, and from the sound of things, you would have a lot of information to dissect when you met them.

You became suddenly nervous, "Are you sure they won't mind me just showing up?"

He just smiled, "Don't worry. I think they already like you."

Startled, you looked back to where they were and discovered that all three of them were staring at you. You leaned over and whispered, "Why are they staring at me like that?"

Shuichi stopped dead in his tracks, "Well…" but he never got to finish his sentence because the next thing you knew, a tall redhead was kneeling in front of you with an odd expression on his oblong face.

"Hi I'm Kuwabara I love you will you marry me?" he said in a gravelly voice.

You stood there speechless, unsure of how to react to this ridiculous outburst.

"Kuwabara quit making an idiot out of yourself," snapped a shorter guy with gelled black hair who strode up beside his friend and punched him in the back of the head, "Don't mind him. He does that around just about every pretty girl he sees."

Kuwabara jumped up, "Hey! I do not Urameshi!" and with that he started wrestling the boy who was obviously Yusuke from Shuichi's description.

"Are they always like this?" you asked Shuichi.

"Pretty much," he said with a smirk.

You turned your attention from the two idiots to the last individual who you decided must be Hiei. He was wearing all black and had black spiky hair with a white streak that seemed to defy gravity. The other two were ordinary boys from what you could determine, but like Shuichi, there was that same shroud of mystery and uniqueness that made you wonder.

*I wonder what he has to hide,* you mused shrewdly. His blazing red eyes were cold and indifferent, but you knew that he was analyzing you with the same intensity as you were him.

You put on a small plastic smile and said, "Hi."

"Hn." was all that he would say.

Shuichi spoke up at this point, "This is Takahashi Sayuri. She's a recently acquired friend of mine, and I offered to bring her along."

Kuwabara grinned, dusting himself off, "Cool. It'll be fun having a lady to hang out with." He bowed graciously.

"Uh…thanks…" you said.

Yusuke grinned and folded his arms across his chest, "You really know how to pick em Kur… OW! WHAT WAS THAT FOR HIEI?"

Hiei was on the ground holding a rock, bouncing it up and down in his hand.

*How did he get down from that tree so fast?* you wondered.

"Hn. Baka. Be careful what you say."

"What?" Yusuke glanced back your direction, "Oh…heh heh! My bad. Just a slip of the tongue. No swearing for me for the rest of the night. Promise," he zipped his lips.

You raised an eyebrow. There were no swear words that began with K U R that you were aware of. These guys were weird. You certainly would have no shortage of entertainment. This was better than watching some of your old co-workers.

*It looks like I am not the only misfit Shuichi has attached himself to.*

Kuwabara spoke up again, "Who's up for food? I'm starved!"

*Kurama's POV- Later that evening.*

"Bye!" you waved to Sayuri one last time as she disappeared around the corner.

She and the others had hit it off better than you had expected. She actually conversed once in a while and once you thought you saw her almost smile. You had discovered that this usually meant that she was happy which relieved you. You had been afraid that today wouldn't work out because of how Sayuri had first reacted when she met you.

Yusuke and Kuwabara adored her despite her stoicism and kept hitting on her, but whether she remained deliberately or ignorantly oblivious to all of it, you couldn't tell. There were several instances when Yusuke tried to grab her chest or slap her butt, but she somehow maneuvered just enough to avoid it.

Hiei acted as if she wasn't there which meant that he didn't loath her on sight, and for him that was a major feat. Actually, you were amazed that he had decided to come at all. Hiei was not the type to go out and socialize.

All of you-except maybe Hiei- were upset to see her go and had offered to escort her home, but she had refused, "It's too far away for you guys, and besides, everyone has school in the morning."

Yusuke and Kuwabara grumbled and moped about it realizing that she was right, but didn't want to admit it. Even though her argument sort of made sense, you were still reluctant to let her go, but you needed to talk to Hiei about her so you decided to let it slide tonight. The bond you had formed with this girl was a fragile one and you still wanted answers. The last thing you needed was for her to push you away like she did the first time you met.

You heard Yusuke chuckle behind you, "She sure is something."

You smiled slightly, not turning, "That she is."

"You've got to be the luckiest guy in the world to find a hot thing like that Kurama!"

At this you laughed out loud, "You make it sound like we're dating or something Kuwabara! She barely tolerates me!"

Kuwabara just smiled knowingly, and then he and Yusuke headed in the opposite direction that Sayuri had left from.

"Bye guys!" Kuwabara called over his shoulder.

"Hn." said Hiei from his corner along the wall, but you said nothing.

You waited until the two of them were out of earshot before you addressed Hiei, "Were you able to sense anything around her?"

"Nothing."

You're eye's widened in surprise, "Nothing? But surely your Jagan…"

"I could not read anything about her with my Jagan. She's completely immune to its effects."

You shook your head in amazement, "I don't believe it."

"Believe it Kurama. I cannot penetrate her mind. The defenses around it are tighter than any that I have previously encountered. It would take a very powerful group and most likely physical contact to get anything from that brick wall."

Your breath felt stolen away, "That cannot be! I sensed no extraordinary levels of spirit energy around her..."

Hiei shook his head slowly, "Consider Kurama. No living human can put up such a mental barrier. What does that tell you?"

Your brow furrowed, "She isn't human. Yet how is that possible? She obviously is not a demon…or is she?"

Hiei snorted derisively, "Haven't you been listening? I don't know!" he turned from you in frustration, "Kurama," he said after a moment of silence, "Don't get too attached… at least not until you can find out more about her."

You nodded in reluctant agreement, "Thank you for coming today Hiei."

"Hn. I only indulged you because the girl piques my curiosity."

You smiled, "You've been watching her more than just today, haven't you?"

"So what if I have?"

You nodded your head, "I figured you would."

"Just keep your distance, fox boy. Don't let your human half get the better of you," Hiei launched himself into the air and out of sight.

"Thanks for your concern," you murmured staring off in the direction that he had gone.

**Dun dun dun! The plot thickens! Oh how I love twists and turns. 3 Just wait, it gets thicker. ^_^**


	5. Forbidden Desire

Here is the next chapter. Do not be fooled by the title. It has nothing to do with sex at all. Just read on and you will see what I mean.

Reminders:

"Talking"

*Thinking*

(new one) **Another person's thoughts...**

_Flashback_

Disclaimer: Don't look at me. I just write here. I own nothing!

~Sayuri's POV~

You strolled thoughtfully fighting the unusual urge to skip, of all things. Who would have guessed that an excursion like that could be so…You searched for the right word…Fun? Even with your self restraint you felt as though you were walking on air, and you treated yourself to a rare smile. What was it exactly that had you feeling this way?

*Oh, what does it matter!* you thought carelessly after several minutes.

You decided to just enjoy the sensation for once. You had not been this...dare you consider it...happy in a long time. Not that you would ever tell Shuichi that...or anyone else. You intended to keep this brief moment of elation to yourself, and even if it never happened again the memory of it would be something pleasant to look back on for a long time.

You turned the last corner that led to your house and began to jog the rest of the way wanting to add in a little evening exercise, so you could release some of your pent up energy. the burst of adrenaline added to your high and your lips curved upward in a grin before you could stop it. You had just "hung out" for the first time in your life.

*Maybe I can have friends,* the hopeful thought wormed its way inside your brain, and-another first-you considered the possibility.

As you did your stomach flipped with butterflies and you felt even lighter. The idea that people could want you for no other reason than mutual enjoyment, for no other motive than that they cared...

But when you were close enough to see your driveway, you stopped short, blanching. All your happiness drained with your color. Your father's sleek, black, imported sports car was there. He was home.

*Why is he here?* you thought frantically.

You felt your heart jump to your throat, and you began to shake in panic.

*Calm down!* you commanded your unwilling body, *Just don't give him a reason to hurt you...*

You walked slowly up to the front door and paused before opening it to collect yourself. You went through a mental checklist. Overall Appearance...Facial Expression...Posture...Hands...Feet... You could not afford to give anything away. You breathed deeply and swallowed the lump in your throat as you pushed the door open after you judged yourself passable. You knew the longer you put this off, the worse it would be. For all you knew, he was just home early because business was going better than usual.

All of the lights were off except for the kitchen light at the end of the hallway. The low rough voice of your father echoed down the hallway. He was probably on the phone. You couldn't see him, but that only meant that he was sitting at the far end of the room.

"Hello?" you called tentatively. Your father paused, and you heard a distinct click as he snapped his cell phone shut.

"Sayuri, get in here!" he called sharply.

You set your bag down and hurried into the kitchen. You knew better than to keep him waiting.

When you got there you turned to face him. He was leaning back nonchalantly cleaning off one of his many weapons, and his cell phone was sitting on the dark, hardwood table. He didn't even look up when you came in, but went on cleaning his semi-automatic. There were several moments of silence during which you stood rigidly at attention.

*One...Two...Three...Four...* you silently counted the tiles on the wall behind him. It was a habit that you picked up. You were calmer when you kept your mind on inconsequential things.

He finally looked up saying simply, "You're learning. Now sit and give me one good reason not to punish you for being out so late without my permission. Don't even bother with the 'I was out on assignment' crap either. We both know they would never work you that hard after doing a raid this month."

You did your best to remain calm as you did what he said, fighting your growing panic.

Your father went back to cleaning his rifle, "Well, I'm waiting."

"I…" you swallowed hard, "I went to the park to train...reading people while I ran...I thought..."

"That's your problem. You thought." His voice was a deadly calm.

You bowed your head submissively and stared at your trembling hands which were resting on your lap. You knew if you clenched them he would be able to see the shaking easier.

"I spoke with your principal," he continued and you stiffened, "He told me something very interesting. He said that you were keeping the company of a young man by the name of Shuichi Minamino," he paused and chuckled darkly, "Now, at first I thought that he must be mistaken because _my_ daughter would not dare defy me so rashly and blatantly, but after tonight…You were with him weren't you?" he spat in disgust and barely suppressed rage.

The longer he spoke, the whiter you became, and by the end you could conceal your terror no longer. You were trembling, "Sir, he is not what you would expect. He helped me catch up in my schoolwork after I got back from the raid."

He jumped up angrily causing the chair he was in to fall backward, "WHAT? You dare to speak out of turn! You dare to defy me! DO YOU REALIZE WHAT YOU HAVE RISKED? DO YOU KNOW WHAT COULD HAPPEN IF I WAS EVER EXPOSED?" The silence that followed was deafening. Then in a deadly calm voice he spoke once more, "You are forbidden from seeing that boy ever again."

You stopped shaking as despair filled you and tears poured openly down your cheeks. You had expected as much. What you had not expected was the emotional pain you were feeling. You had to stop crying! You had to!...but it was impossible. Suddenly you wished you never experienced your earlier elation. The memory of it was no longer light. It was crushing you with a vision of what you would never have.

"Have I made myself clear?" It was so clear you could put your whole cursed existence on a pedestal miles away and people could still use it for target practice. How could you let this go? How could you go back to the way things were?

You knew that this time he was expecting an answer. It took a moment for you to find your voice and even then it cracked in emotion, "But sir…" *Oh no!* you clamped your hand over your mouth, but it was too late.

The next thing you knew, you were sprawled out on the floor, and your father was standing over you with hatred and disgust contorting his features. He was seething. You tried to sit up and back away, but he shoved you back down with his foot pinning you there.

"Don't you DARE defy me again! You WILL obey. You will have no more contact with that boy. You will redouble the pathetic efforts you call training, and I will hear no more of this! You know what will happen if you disobey me again!" He bent over and heaved you up by the front of your shirt, yanking you up so that you were eye-level with him, "Now get out of my face you ugly little *****!"

With that he threw you from him. You barely stifled a scream as you launched into the counter top ten feet away. You impacted full force and landed in a crumpled heap on the floor. You didn't bother to catch your breath, quickly staggering to your feet as quickly as you fell. You stumble-ran out of the kitchen and didn't stop until you made it up the stairs and into your bedroom. You sucked air in as fresh pain seared up your spine, but it was nothing compared to the torture your emotions were wreaking on you. You collapsed onto your bed, sobbing helplessly.

~Kurama's POV~

*Where is she?* you asked yourself. You felt impatient, and you did not like feeling impatient.

You looked around the lunch room again hoping by some miracle that you would catch a glimpse of her. You decided to stop by her locker before you left for lunch to try and reach her there, but all you found was a note that made you more than a little uneasy.

_"I can't see you anymore. Don't try to find me."_

You could not understand why she would suddenly decide to break off all communication, especially after yesterday. Unless you were mistaken, Sayuri seemed to enjoy herself. It made no sense. Something must have happened after she left.

That only made you frustrated at yourself. You should have waited to talk to Hiei. You should have walked her home. What if something happened that you could have prevented? Guilt washed over you, and you racked your brain, trying to make heads or tails of the situation. The longer you sat brooding, the more worried you became.

*I cannot stand this!* you fought the urge to growl.

Nothing was adding up! You circulated the events of the last several weeks through your mind again. Strange energy...old bruises mingled with new ones...her lack of emotion...Hiei unable to read her mind or her energy with his Jagan...her sudden disappearance... It still led to nothing.

You stood. You were not going to wait until Physics class, the only class the two of you shared, to figure this out.

*I am going to find her if I have to tear down this school to do it,* you thought grimly.

~Flashback~

_The day was perfect for an outing. That is what the girl's mother had said, and with the help of the girl, they were able to persuade the man of the house to go out with them. _

_It did not take long for the small family to take the small, winding pathway to the hilltop. _

_"Ooh! Daddy, let me down! Let me down!" squealed the girl from her father's shoulders. _

_He laughed heartily and honored her request. The moment her feet touched the beaten earth, she was off, giggling as the tall grass tickled her face. She pushed her little legs as fast as she could until she reached the top of the hill, and went straight to a patch of wildflowers. _

_Eagerly she bent down to smell one, but froze after inhaling deeply. She leaned back and scrunched up her nose, trying to hold her breath, but a loud sneeze burst from her lips. Her parents reached the top just in time to see it, and the comical look on her face afterward. They laughed as the girl blinked and shook her head, rubbing her nose. _

_When she noticed their laughter, the girl grinned. She quickly plucked two of the flowers and ran back to her mother and father, holding out one to each of them._

_"They for you!" she said proudly._

_Her mother squatted down beside her and hugged her, "A beautiful flower from a beautiful flower. I will treasure it."_

*Sayuri's POV*

You sat underneath the big tree behind the school staring at nothing. It had been easier than you thought to avoid Shuichi. You were so concerned with appearances before-you realized now- that you were not trying as hard as you thought to shake him before. Amazing how a little incentive made difficult things possible.

You clenched your fists until blood was dripping out of your palms, reveling in the pain that shot up your arms. The pain in your bruised back simply was not enough. You needed more. Pain was good. Pain meant you could feel something. Pain meant that you could survive...like you always did. It was all you knew how to do. You would endure this just like you endured everything else.

You felt your eyes begin to well up with tears again, but you wiped them away furiously. Crying didn't matter anymore. Your father had won. He always won in the end. He would probably learn that you quit work sooner or later too...

You stood to throw out your untouched lunch. How were you supposed to eat when you considered your potential punishment?

"Sayuri?"called a soft voice.

You spun around wide-eyed and unbelieving, "Shuichi?"

There was a long pause, and you found yourself lost in the kindness and concern in his green eyes. You turned away as your eyes began swimming again. No! Not him! Not now!

"Why did you come? Didn't you read my note?" you deadpanned.

"Yes I did…What is going on? I deserve an explanation Sayuri, and you know it,"he said firmly.

You could hear the hurt and confusion behind his words. Each one cut you to the very center, but there was nothing you could do about it.

You hesitated in a failed attempt to gather your emotions and thoughts in desperation. You did not want Shuichi to see you like this, "I've got to go."

"Sayuri, don't do this!" Shuichi grabbed your shoulder, and spun you around and you doubled over as pain seared up your spine. You gasped. You weren't expecting it to hurt that badly.

*Dad must have thrown me harder than I thought.* You began to tremble as you fought hard to suppress the tears running down your cheeks. You could not look up at Shuichi. You knew if you did you would lose what little control you had on your emotions.

"What happened?" he asked in a soft horrified voice, as he helped you back to a standing position.

You covered your face with your hands. Why did he have to see this? You were ashamed of yourself. Crying in front of people was for the weak, and you were certainly proving to him that you were weak. Why was Shuichi always the one to show up when you were at your weakest?

You stiffened as Shuichi's grip tightened around you into an embrace. You tried to resist, but he pulled you in and rested his head near yours, "Sayuri, I'm not leaving."

At this point you were sobbing uncontrollably. An anguished cry ripped from your throat. Even now, he was trying to help. You could not take it anymore. You had to get out of here before you let yourself return that embrace. You could not allow your wound to deepen any more. You threw yourself from him and began to sprint blindly, ignoring the pain that coursed through your body.

~Kurama's POV~

You swore. Where did she go? You looked around you frantically. She just broke away from you in a show of strength that you had not expected, and vanished into thin air. Not to mention she was _crying_!

*And she was giving off that strange energy again,* you realized.

You shook your head as the shock of what happened wore off. You had to think! You were close to getting your answer, you just knew it...and there was also the nagging worry that something dreadful had happened, or was going to happen to Sayuri. You never would have thought you would feel so emotionally attached to the girl. After all, you were nothing alike...but, strangely, you were attached.

*She is my friend,* you thought in surprise.

If this incident happened even a week before you might have considered bringing her case to Lord Koenma's attention and letting Spirit World handle her. Not anymore. This was not just about your idle curiosity turning up something alarming. This was about a friend in crisis that you might never see again. You knew she would never come back to the school. You weren't sure how, but you knew. Whatever she was hiding would require her to go into hiding.

"No," you said with finality, "It is not ending this way."

You were going to find her, and help her if you could. You owed it to her as a friend to be there for her even if she didn't want you there.

*Hiei!* you called in your mind, *Hiei, it's important! I know you can hear me!*

There was a short pause before he answered, ** You had better have a good excuse for making my head hurt like this Kurama! **

*I need your help! Sayuri's gone missing!* You quickly explained the situation to him. *We need to find her!*

** Why the hell should I care? **

*Hiei!*

**Gah! Fine! I'll help. Quit shouting!**

You and Hiei had met up less than fifteen minutes later and began a systematic search of the surrounding area. Both of you knew her spirit energy signal and what she looked like, so you assumed it could not take too long. You were wrong. Her energy signal, her scent, every trace of Sayuri was gone.

Your alarm grew with each passing minute, but you forced it down. Panic was not something that would help the situation. Hiei said nothing to you as you looked. The two of you used unspoken signals developed from before you ever heard the name Yusuke Urameshi, back when you worked together as thieves.

You searched every square foot within a mile radius of the school and still found nothing. The two of you were just getting ready to expand your search when Boton appeared looking extremely miffed.

"What are you guys doing way out here? I've been looking for you for nearly an hour! There has been a substantial portal leak that was discovered in the city! About thirty lower class demons have entered the city so far, and Yusuke and Kuwabara are at their wits-end trying to round them up and find the leak by themselves. Get over there!" and with that she flew off on her oar without allowing the two of you to provide an explanation.

Thankfully, Boton was in too much of a hurry to notice how frustrated the news made you. This mission could not have come at a worse time, as far as you were concerned, and if you had any other choice you would ignore Koenma's summons and keep looking for Sayuri.

"Hn. It looks like we'll have to bail the bakas out again. Honestly Kurama, I'm sick of babysitting them," said Hiei in annoyance.

You sighed, "Let's go."

Sayuri would have to wait.

~Sayuri's POV~

You stood slowly, favoring your stiff muscles and aching back.

*Where am I?* you wondered.

You had not really paid attention to where you ran when you broke away from Shuichi. All you knew was that you started running and everything around you turned into a blur. You were so worried about him following you that you put as much distance between yourself and the school as you could before you collapsed in exhaustion.

*This is not good...* you thought. You had never been in this part of town before. You examined the trashy alleyway, but could not see or hear anyone nearby. What exactly was this place?

"Where am I?" you asked yourself aloud this time.

Your legs felt like over-stretched rubber as you stepped around the worst of the trash, adding a wobble to your already stiff steps. When you came to the corner you peeked around only to see another narrow walkway between boarded up buildings.

You sighed in exasperation, "How do I manage to get myself into these situations," you said turning back around. You would find another pathway that didn't look quite as foreboding.

"I'll help you out cutie." The deep, guttural voice came from behind you.

*Impossible!* you thought, *No one was there!*

You turned back and saw the outlines five men where there had been none before. You backed away from the darker alley and did a perfunctory check around you to make sure there would not be any other surprises and then addressed the men, "I don't have any money if that is what you are after."

You continued edging your way away from them as they came into the light. All five were shabbily dressed and rather tall. One of them, you presumed the leader, had muscles so thick you were sure you could bounce a coin off them. He was sneering as he puffed on a cigar that was hanging from his mouth.

The dubbed leader chuckled and leaned against the corner where you had been only moments before, "Really, now," he said placing a broad palm against his chest, "Why would we want something as trivial as money? We'll show you the way out of here...maybe."

You did not miss the way he leered at you, that all of them leered at you. It was like starving men in a desert seeing food for the first time in days. The one in the back had even started drooling, and you groaned inwardly. Why was it you attracted this kind of attention when you were hurt? This was the third time in a matter of a few short weeks. Luckily this time you were still in good enough condition to handle the situation. You might be hurting, but you could still fight.

You narrowed your eyes coldly at him, "I can find my own way thanks," you said levelly.

He threw back his head and laughed maliciously, put his fingers to his lips and gave a sharp whistle, "Oh, but I insist."

From the corner of your eye you saw four other men come around the other bend on the opposite side of the alley. Two of them had knives drawn, one was swinging a thick length of chain, and the other was cracking knuckles in an anticipatory way.

"Help, huh?" you said sarcastically as his other four men pulled out weapons of their own.

"Look at it this way," shrugged the leader with a puff of his cigar, "My men have not had...fresh meat...in so long, and you do look delicious."

You glowered angrily at the ring leader once more, "I will warn you once," you growled, ice dripping with every syllable, "Leave me alone. I am not the easy prey you seek."

All of them laughed uproariously at your words. The poor fools did not know what they were up against.

The leader's sneer deepened, "Aw! The little girl thinks that she's going to get past all of us. Let's teach her a lesson in manners first," then he paused and his men cheered heartily.

*What is it with bad guys and theatrics?* you thought sarcastically.

"Get her!"

As they approached, you felt your pain drain away as adrenaline flooded your senses. A familiar calm settled over you as you went into your favorite fighting stance and prepared to attack. When they closed in on you, you let your training take over.

**Just so you know, I had a difficult time writing this chapter. I seriously cried. I realize that means I am ultra nerdy, but whatever. Sayuri's life sucks eggs!**


	6. Demons Attack

**_I am back! Woo hoo! My finals are over, I am off from work, and I have no pressing obligations for the rest of the weekend. ^_^ This was a chapter that I have been excited to put up from the time I first put the story online. You get to learn a lot about Sayuri this time around which is cool because you get to see it mostly through Kurama's eyes. I hope everyone enjoys it. Reviews on this chapter would really make my day. :D_**

Reminders:

_Italics indicate a flashback._

*Thoughts*

"Talking"

~Flashback~_  
><em>

_"Kami! Did you see the massacre she left behind her?"_

_"All those corpses... and she did it by herself!"_

_The girl paused outside the door of the break room and leaned in to listen closer._

_"Sometimes I wonder how wise it is to trust that..._child_ with the organization's secrets..."_

_A derisive snort, "Child? The girl is inhuman! Have any of you tried to spar with her? I have. She had me in a kill position in under thirty seconds!"_

_"You are braver than the rest of us, Koshi. You could not pay me to go into the ring with Takahashi."_

_"No kidding! I swear, when she looks at people she sees nothing but the best way to kill them."_

_"And now Callahan is making her the head of the ace unit."_

_A groan, "Don't remind me. I have to take orders from the *****."_

_"Be careful, Yori. If she hears you saying things like that, you might not wake up in the morning."_

_The girl did not stay to hear more. Her shoulders drooped slightly, and she drug her feet as she went to drop off her paperwork. A rebellious tear slipped past her emotional barrier, but she flicked it away before anyone could notice. _

~Kurama's POV~

Your thoughts wandered as you jogged the back roads and alleyways with Hiei. Thanks to the surge of spirit energy and your friend's Jagan eye, you knew exactly where Yusuke and Kuwabara were in the city. Neither of you bothered to hurry. The situation was not dire, and you did not want to draw more attention to yourselves than you had to.

You still marveled from time to time how fate had brought the four of you together after the demon tournament. With Yusuke's death warrant signed by King Yama himself, Kuwabara and you both in separate high schools, and Hiei functioning as a guard at the barrier between the living world and the demon world, it did not seem likely you would have ended up working together again.

Unfortunately, removing the Kekai Barrier did not establish peace entirely between the two worlds. There were some demons and humans who took advantage of the established peace to cause trouble. Prince Koenma and the ruler of the demon world decided that a spirit detective would still be needed in the living world...and no one but Yusuke was willing to take the job.

King Yama still did not trust Yusuke but allowed him to take the position temporarily until a suitable replacement could be found. The rest of you were gathered from your respective pursuits and placed on a sort of probation and were told to watch your friend closely. Yama's mistrust apparently extended to all four of you, and, according to Koenma, he wanted to keep all of you together so he could keep a closer eye on you.

Hiei took the news hardest. He liked his independence, even if it was only superficial. Not even Kuwabara failed to notice the spies that Koenma's father sent. The only reason Hiei agreed to this was because all of you were promised to be freed of your not-so-sneaky tag-alongs, as well as from any further obligation to Yama or Koenma.

Before long you and Hiei could hear the unmistakeable sound of Yusuke and Kuwabara fighting. You smirked. They never had mastered the art of subtlety, and you suspected they never would. You rounded the corner to where they were just as the two of them finished off a group of about eight lower class demons. Not one was above a "B" class by Spirit World measurements.

"Hiei, Kurama, where in the heck have you two been?" Yusuke shouted irritably, "This is the fifth set of demons we've had to deal with on our own."

"It's none of your business!" Hiei snapped.

"Have you located the leak yet Yusuke?" you asked, ignoring Yusuke's bad mood.

He threw up his arms, "No! That's Hiei's department! He's the one with the freaky all-seeing eye."

"Well where is it Hiei?" demanded Kuwabara.

"Hn. That way." Hiei pointed to the west.

"Well then what are we waiting for?" said Kuwabara with gusto, "Let's get this done so I can get back to my homework!"

The four of you ran down the sidewalk, and twenty blocks later everyone was beginning to wonder whether you were going the right direction. All you had run into was a few straggler demons which were quickly eliminated.

You were about to ask Hiei how close you were after the four of you turned the corner but stopped short. The leak appeared directly in front of you and you had to stop or you would have tumbled right in.

"Great job... Kurama!... You found it!" wheezed Kuwabara with a grin on his face, "Golly... I hate running!"

You smiled wryly, "Now we just need to close it before anything else comes out."

Just then you heard a commotion up ahead and Hiei sidled up next to you, "It sounds like some of the lower class scum are wreaking havoc a few blocks down."

"I'll handle them. Yusuke and Kuwabara need a break and you need to stay here to seal the breach anyway Hiei," you said nonchalantly.

"What?... That's not fair!... I wanted to... kick some more... demon butt!" whined Kuwabara between gasps. He leaned down and put his hands on his knees.

"Are you sure you want to go by yourself Kurama? Not all of them are Class B. I'm sensing at least one A class. It could get messy." said Yusuke.

You smiled, "I'm sure I'll be fine. Besides, you'll need to block any other demons from coming out of that hole so Hiei can concentrate."

"Hn," said Hiei.

Yusuke nodded, "Good luck then."

"I'll see you back here in a little while."

You took off without another word in the direction of the noise, "What are those demons up to?" you wondered.

It was odd that this leak of this magnitude had occurred so quickly. Usually Spirit World caught on when they were only big enough to allow one or two apparitions to come through the gap. This leak was big enough to let in dozens.

The only good thing about this situation was the area it was happening in. This was the rundown area in the city with a lot of old, derelict buildings. Typically it was abandoned during the day. A lot of shady characters would spend their time here under cover of night and most of them would either be asleep or recovering from partying the night before. No one with any sort of reputation to uphold wanted to be caught here. There would be no human casualties on this mission, and no one to see what you and the rest of your group were up to.

You crept slowly up to the corner and peeked around the bend to where the racket was taking place, assessing the situation. What you saw before you made your jaw drop.

*What in the name of...* you thought.

You now knew why the demons in question-there were about ten of them from the looks of things-were making so much noise. They were fighting someone and were being beaten. That wasn't nearly as shocking to note, as the fact that the person beating them was a petite human girl. You couldn't see her face for the moment though she looked oddly familiar and when she did turn enough so that you could recognize her, you nearly lost your balance entirely. It was Sayuri!

You could not believe it! She was performing some of the most amazing martial arts that you had ever seen from a human. She was bending, turning, twisting, and throwing her body in ways and at speeds that should not be humanly possible. You blinked, half expecting the scene before you to be a trick your eyes were playing on you. No. Sayuri was still there. The scene had not changed.

Then out of the corner of your eye you saw one of the demons who was standing outside the fight drawing a gun.

*WHAT?* you thought in alarm. Since when did demons use guns?

You snapped out of your fixation on Sayuri, drew your rose whip, stepped out into the open and shouted pointing at the demon, "Sayuri! Watch out!"

She glanced at you briefly, her face fierce and determined but otherwise unreadable, and then turned her attention to the demon pointing the gun at her.

He fired, and she dodged, but not quickly enough. She screamed in pain clutching at her left shoulder. You didn't hesitate any longer, jumping into the fray.

~Sayuri's POV~

You clutched at the bullet wound in your left shoulder miraculously still managing to dodge the chain that was aimed at your head. You continued to fight carefully guarding your left side.

Fighting was a lot harder now because you were getting tired. The initial adrenaline rush was gone and now that you were bleeding badly you were weakening much faster than normal. You were already lightheaded and shaky, but you couldn't stop now. That would be suicide.

You did a spinning jump kick and knocked one of the men out, watching Shuichi out of the corner of your eye. He was fighting with a strange spiky whip taking on three of the gangsters with apparent ease. Why he was here and how was a complete mystery to you, but you weren't going to waste your time worrying about that. There would be time for questions later. For now, his help was greatly appreciated.

After a few more moments, you knocked out the last gangster you had been fighting with and turned to face the leader. Your lightheadedness making you somewhat reckless, you called out, "Come and fight me you coward!"

He stood there menacingly, a livid expression contorting his features, "You'll wish you'd never been born!" he screeched.

Suddenly, a bright light surrounded him, and you stumbled back in shock covering your eyes with your good arm so that you wouldn't be blinded.

*What's going on?* you wondered frantically.

The light slowly receded to reveal a huge, ugly, wolf-like creature. Horror and repulsion gripped your insides. It was at least eight feet tall! The monster cracked a hideous grin showing you two rows of razor sharp teeth. It charged at you without warning, a growl escaping from its throat.

*I have got to be hallucinating!* you thought desperately, *Please let me be hallucinating!*

You forced your trembling legs to stand and braced yourself for another round. You charged the monster because you knew that it would be foolish to wait around for it to come to you. You were not going to give this beast any more advantage over you than it already had. As it was, you were still having trouble swallowing the wide-eyed terror that was currently threatening to overwhelm you.

*What is this thing?* you asked yourself as the two of you exchanged blows.

Somehow you were able to keep up with the flurry of attacks that it rained down on you, though you knew that this could not last. None of your hits seemed to make a dent in the creature. You were sure that had you been well-rested and uninjured that this fight would be more evenly matched. Your hits shifted quickly from ineffectual hits to blocks and dodging when you realized that your efforts were only bruising you worse than you were. As it was, moving was like trying to wade through thigh high muck.

*D*** it! If Shuichi doesn't finish off with the other three soon, I'm dead!*

Sure enough your slowed movements left your injured shoulder unprotected for a millisecond too long which big, ugly and ruthless took full advantage of. He punched you hard right where the bullet wound was causing you to hesitate in pain just long enough for the creature to swipe your abdomen with its claws.

You screamed as the force of the blow spun you around and forced you to your knees. Fiery needles of pain burst from the new wound, and you clutched your stomach with your good arm where blood was beginning to stream. You braced yourself for another attack as you struggled to stumble out of reach of your attacker.

After a few seconds when the blow you had been expecting did not come, you risked a pause and glanced back to where you had last seen the beast.

The creature was still standing there, but he was struggling against the spiky whip which was wrapped tightly around it. It's blood shot eyes were narrowed at you and saliva oozed from between his bared teeth. Shuichi was standing a short distance away gripping the handle.

"Don't you DARE touch her ever again!" Shuichi shouted.

Your eyes fluttered involuntarily shut as a wave of dizziness rolled over you. You couldn't fight any more. You just couldn't. You had used up all the reserves that your body could find. You had nothing left. You staggered back until you were leaning against the alley wall opposite of Shuichi and the monster. Your breath came in ragged gasps as you fought the pain and exhaustion.

"SAYURI!"

You opened your eyes wearily at Shuichi's frantic call and froze. To your horror there was a beam of bright red light shooting straight at you. You raised your arms in front of you reflexively, knowing that it was already too late. You hadn't the energy to dodge that…thing. Somehow you knew that it was going to kill you, but you were not bothered. An overwhelming warmth enveloped you.

*At least now all of the pain will be over...*

With that thought, you felt something like static electricity, but warm and soothing to the touch envelop your entire body. It lingered for about a millisecond before shooting down to your hands. You stared at them, locking your elbows to get them as far from yourself as possible, unsure of what else to do. They were glowing a soft blue color, but you looked away again as the light suddenly became blinding. The wind rushed out of your lungs as you were slammed against the alley wall.

~Kurama's POV~

You threw down the handle of your rose whip in a futile attempt to get to Sayuri before the energy blast killed her. You willed her to duck, to run, to do anything to get out of the way...but she didn't. She just stood there with her arms raised in front of her in a feeble attempt to block the inevitable blow. Her pale skin seemed to glow in the light of the wolf demon's attack, and her eyes looked empty.

*I am too late! She's going to die!*

Suddenly you stopped short. The same strange energy you sensed around Sayuri when you rescued her from Sen and his friends exploded from her. The bright blue energy surged forward, completely engulfing the demon's blast and sped to where the demon was standing.

Your mind barely registered the demon screaming in mingled disbelief and agony, as the sheer force of it blew you off your feet. You cried out as your shoulder hit the alley wall twenty feet back, but you were more ready for the fall and caught yourself with your hands.

You took a moment to listen. If there were other demons in the vicinity...but your fears were unfounded. There were no others. You stood and looked around, finding no sign of the wolf demon, but that was not surprising.

You shivered, *After a powerful blast like that…*

You were just lucky that you weren't in the direct path of that ball of energy, or you would probably be dead as well.

When you finished checking for any immediate danger, you turned your attention back to Sayuri, urgently. She was alive and standing! Granted, she looked like she had been put through a meat grinder, but she was alive. Relief flooded through you like water over a dam... until you saw her sway.

"Sayuri?" you called tentatively.

She ignored you. She was staring fixedly at her hands which still emitted a soft blue glow.

"Sayuri?" you called again.

She looked up at you slowly with a confused, questioning, almost pleading look on her face. Then her eyes rolled up in the back of her head and she collapsed.

You forgot the pain in your shoulder and ran to her side. You flipped her over as gently as you could and lifted the remnants of her shirt. You winced, seeing the deep gashes the demon's claws left on her abdomen, which was still bleeding. You yanked off your school jacket, and ripped it into wide swaths of cloth and wrapped it around the injury tightly. You also took the time to wrap a strip around her injured shoulder. When you determined that her other injuries would not prevent you from moving her, you picked her up bridal style and sped back to where the Hiei and the others were. They all had their back to you since they were watching Hiei finish sealing up the portal. Botan was standing nearby as well. She must have shown up while you were away.

"Yusuke! Hiei! Everyone!" you called hoarsely even though you were still over a block from them. The gang spun around in surprise and when they saw you and Sayuri in your arms unconscious they were at your side in an instant.

Boton's eyes were wide with shock, "Who is this? What happened?"

"What the hell is going on here Kurama?What is she doing here?" yelled Yusuke.

"How did you manage to get this baka onna involved?" said an infuriated Hiei.

"Hey guys! She's hurt!" exclaimed a frantic Kuwabara.

You shook your head, "There is no time to explain!" you gasped, "We have to get her to Spirit World now! Boton, can you get a portal out of here?"

Boton looked at you gravely, "I am not sure Koenma would approve…"

You returned her stare with one of your own, "Trust me. After what I just witnessed, I am sure Koenma will have no problems with the idea."

She still looked doubtful, but she said, "Alright...if you are sure..." Boton pulled out her small round communicator and got Koenma on the line.

~At Spirit World—Still Kurama's POV~

You knocked on the door that led to Koenma's office purposefully. You had fully expected him to want to speak with you about Sayuri, and you were right. You had been given permission to see her to the hospital ward and then get patched up yourself, but Koenma had demanded to see you immediately afterward. That was why you were standing in front of his office in bandages only two hours after the incident, which was hardly enough time to process all of the shocking information in the first place.

"Come in," said a small, yet commanding voice from the other side of the door.

You obeyed, striding into the expansive room.

As you approached the toddler's desk, he motioned to a chair in front of him, "Sit, Kurama. We have much to discuss."

"I am aware of that, sir," you said simply, and sat.

He folded his small hands behind his back, "First of all, I want you to know that I saw the entire fiasco on tape, so there really is no need to hide anything from me; however, I wish to hear what happened from you. I would also like you to tell me what you know of Sayuri, since you seem to know her best. I think that your testimony will confirm my suspicions about Miss Takahashi."

You nodded gravely, "I understand." You then proceeded to explain everything that you knew from the time that you met her. You even included your private conference with Hiei. Since Sayuri's fate was now an issue of Spirit World Security, you were under obligation to tell Koenma everything you could. It was part of your terms of your probation.

There was a long moment of silence when you finished, "Now that is interesting," mused Koenma, tapping his chin, "You are telling me before that incident, you had never before seen or felt anything terribly out of the ordinary?"

You nodded, "The different energy signal, as I mentioned, was only slight, and I was investigating it on my own because I saw no need to involve your men in something that seemed so trivial."

His little brow creased as he considered your words. He sighed, "There is one explanation for all of this that seems likely, and it would make the most sense."

"You are thinking she is Hanshoku?" you asked quietly. You had come to the same conclusion yourself, but had been unwilling to voice it. Such a phenomenon was almost as rare as Mazukon. Then again, Yusuke was living proof that even infinitesimal odds were possible.

"I did some digging into her family history and I had difficulty figuring out much about her parents. Her father is a known member of the Black Black club, but he is more discreet about his membership there than others are. Her mother was more difficult. The most that we learned is that her name was Keya." He brought a family picture up onto the large screen in front of him. It was a picture of a Woman with dark blue hair holding a much younger version of Sayuri with a tall man standing behind the two of them.

You reeled in shock, "That's Sayuri's family?"

He nodded, "What is it Kurama?" noticing your change in demeanor.

You shook your head, "I knew Keya, that's all."

Koenma frowned, "Really?"

A tight smile formed on your lips, "Yes. If Keya is indeed Sayuri's biological mother, then I can definitely say that Sayuri is Hanshoku."

"How can you be so sure?" asked the tiny ruler skeptically.

"Because," you said grimly, "I knew her before I came to the living world. She was a fox demon like me."

Koenma leaned forward with interest, "And?"

"She was a fugitive and an outlaw. Unlike me, she was not interested in rare and valuable artifacts. Keya was more of a hired mercenary. She was good at it too. She disappeared several years before I fled to the living world. I had assumed that one of her exploits had finally gone sour and she was dead."

"Apparently not," Koenma said slowly, "Thank you Kurama. Is there anything else you would like to add?"

You shook your head. There was nothing else to say.

"Very well. You may go."

You stood and walked purposefully out of his office. You needed to find a quiet place to think all this through.

_**Well, Sayuri got beat up again...but at least she got to do some butt-kicking of her own before it happened right? I promise, you will get to see more of Sayuri's awesome fighting in the future. :D**_


	7. Alternate Reality

**Chapter is sooooooooooo loooooooonng! This is one of those moments where I get to dump tons of information on poor Sayuri...and some new information on my readers. Heh heh... I tried my best to make it interesting, and I am doing my best to make the romance between Sayuri and Kurama move faster. From here on out, you will also notice a huge personality shift in Sayuri. You will understand why pretty quick, I think. **

**Any feedback would be appreciated.  
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**Remember:**

***thought***

**"talk"**

**_flashback_**

**Disclaimer: Oh! How I wish I owned YYH! ...heck...I would be happy if I could just own Kurama or Hiei.**

_~Flashback~_

_"GONE! I DO NOT WANT TO HEAR THAT SHE IS GONE!" screamed the girl's father, "FIND HER D*** IT!"_

_The girl, cowering in the farthest corner of the room, started to cry loudly as her father threw the telephone against the wall. He did not stop there. Soon he was smashing furniture. Splinters peppered the air as he yelled angry words that the girl did not understand. She did not understand any of it. She cowered lower, and covered her ears, rocking back and forth as loud sobs tore from her throat. _

_"SHUT UP!" her father yelled._

_She cried harder._

_More furniture broke. Her father carved a path straight toward her. _

_"This is all YOUR FAULT!" he bellowed._

_The girl tried to make herself smaller as she cried, but her father would not let her. He yanked her up by the arms, and shook her, "Shut up!" he said again, "You did this! My wife if gone because of YOU!"_

~New POV~

Tao Takahashi slammed his car door and took a gulp of his sake. He glanced around carelessly at the abandoned shipping yard taking in the derelict buildings and rusting machinery.

"D*** our government..." he growled.

He took another swig and strode towards a warehouse at the center of the yard. He kicked up a small cloud of dust as he walked disturbing the drowsy ground. but even Mr. Takahashi's stomping and swearing was not enough to rouse the place from lifelessness permanently. By the time he opened the groaning warehouse door and slammed it behind him, the breeze carried away his disturbance, and things settled back to the status-qua of slow but steady decay.

As the foul-tempered man made his way down the darkened hallway his footsteps echoed loudly increasing the feeling of abandonment that hovered over the dark place like a heavy quilt. The only other noise was the sound of voices trickling out the doorway at the end of the hall. That and the low lighting that peeked around the edges of the door were the only guide, Takahashi had...not that he needed it. He had walked this path many times before.

When Mr. Takahashi reached the doorway he knocked with the same forcefulness that he had slammed the car door with.

The talking on the other side stopped and someone called, "Come in, Takahashi-san."

He entered and settled into a comfortable leather chair without preamble. The room, aside from the fancy desk, and comfortable leather chairs was rather plain and unattractive. In fact it looked just as derelict as the rest of the building.

"I assume you called me here for a reason, Horoshi," growled Sayuri's father.

The man dubbed Horoshi was standing next to the desk still looking intently at the man in the chair behind the desk, which was turned away from view.

Upon being addressed, Horoshi smiled knowingly at Takahashi and said, "You are a difficult man to get a hold of. We've been trying to reach you for weeks now."

Mr. Takahashi grunted and took another swig, draining the remnants from the bottle in his hand, "I'm a busy man."

"How generous it is of you to make time for us," said Horoshi, smiling smoothly.

"Cut the small talk and tell me what the h*** you want," he snapped chucking the bottle from him. It shattered on the floor leaving bits of dark brown glass scattered everywhere.

"Very well," he said with an indulgent shrug, "Your daughter has come into her powers."

"How can you be sure?" Takahashi asked skeptically after a moment, "After all I thought we were agreed that the little ***** was a lost cause. Half breeds don't come into their powers after the age of ten. Isn't that what you told me?"

Horoshi shook his head, "We had thought so originally, but circumstances have led us to change that assumption. We did some digging. It is possible for this to happen at a later age although it is very rare. Half demons are a mite unpredictable with this sort of thing."

Takahashi sat in silent contemplation for several seconds before answering, "Why should I care? Didn't we agree, Horoshi that if I gave the worthless little runt over to you Government morons, that you would leave me alone and let me do as I please?"

Horoshi nodded, "That was our agreement. However, there is a slight complication. Your daughter has quit coming to work."

"WHAT?" Mr. Takahashi leaned forward and slammed his palms on the desk.

He smiled coyly, "Now you see the problem." He paused, "I am afraid that the situation is somewhat my fault. I finally managed to get rid of that pathetic Callahan so that I could have more direct control over the girl, but she refused to work under me because of …past conflicts."

"THE H*** IF I CARE! I'LL KILL HER!"

Horoshi leaned forward, "I have a simpler solution in mind."

"Like what?" he snapped.

"Sign this." Horoshi slid a document across the table to him.

He picked it up, "What the H*** is this?"

"In a nutshell? This document states that your daughter is a danger to people around her, and will give us permission to apprehend her. We cannot have a loose cannon on the streets, after all," he smiled.

"How is this supposed to make me feel better? I don't see how this will benefit me."

"It's simple. We will take your daughter off your hands completely. You will never have to see her again."

"What if I say no?" he asked in a low voice, "I have my own ways of handling things like this. Why should I do things your way?"

"We will of course be providing you compensation."

"How much?"

Horoshi smiled, "$500 million."

There was complete silence in the room. Sayuri's father stared disbelievingly at Horoshi, who simply gazed confidently back.

"I want the funds transferred immediately," he said slowly, with complete calm.

Horoshi smiled widely, "It's already been done."

"Let me see."

Horoshi reached for his bag, and pulled out a lap top. he opened it and quickly typed on the keyboard before turning it and sliding it across to Takahashi. Sayuri's father leaned in, and began reading the numbers on the screen. After a moment he looked up with a lopsided grin on his face.

"Where is this paperwork I need to sign?" he rubbed his hands together.

"Right here," said Horoshi.

Sayuri's father deftly pulled a pen from his suit coat pocket, twirling it before he placed the tip on the paper. He did not even pause to read the document, scrawling his signature on the dotted line at the bottom.

"I better not see you or anyone else from your agency again," he growled, and prepared to stand.

Horoshi grinned broadest now, "Don't worry. You won't." Then he reached behind himself.

BANG!

Takahashi fell forward with a dull thud hitting the desk before falling to the floor. Blood ran like water out of the bullet hole where his eye used to be. He was dead.

The man who had been sitting silently in the chair with his back turned for all of this finally spoke up, "Excellent, Horoshi. My master will be pleased," The figure turned and stood revealing archaic black clothes, sharp teeth and piercing red eyes. "He will be very pleased indeed."

The demon stepped back into the shadows and vanished.

~Sayuri's POV~

You drifted.

Floated.

Silent.

You could not even feel yourself breathe.

"Hello?..." echoed a grating voice.

You cringed inside.

"Are you going to wake up now?..." the voice was louder.

A white pinprick of light appeared, and you tried to draw away from it...but you could not move.

"Look! She _is_ waking up! Go tell Lord Koenma!"

*Koenma?...* you thought, but you did no more than that. The pinprick suddenly expanded to encompass your field of vision...or was it that you were sucked into it...

"Hello?..."

That voice again. You blinked...or more accurately, fluttered your eyelids weakly trying to get your eyes to focus. It took time, but when they finally cooperated you suddenly wished you could go back to the dark. Looming over you was a creature you had never seen before. Gray-blue skin and wild green hair only served to accentuate the horns that protruded out of the monster's head, and angry looking tusks jutted out from its lower lips.

"ARGH!" you screamed, and flipped reflexively so you could get in a stance to defend yourself.

CRASH!

White hot pain seared across your field of vision, and you whimpered.

You resisted the urge to curl into the fetal position and tried to push yourself off the floor, *I have to stand! I have to fight! I have to...*

"Sayuri!" called a familiar voice, "Calm down! It's alright!"

Equally familiar arms wrapped around you, and braced you. You melted. Safe...you were safe...

"Shuichi..." you whispered hoarsely.

In one swift movement that you barely registered you were turned over and you opened your eyes to stare into his emerald ones as he cradled you in his arms.

"Yes, it's alright, Sayuri, I am here," he said softly.

"Oh dear, I scared her didn't I?" said the grating voice. The blue skinned monster peeked around the corner of the bed, and you tensed...but then relaxed slightly when you noticed its slumped posture and wide, innocent eyes.

Shuichi responded, "Perhaps it would be best if I was the one to help her for the moment, ogre."

*Ogre?* You looked back up at Shuichi again quizzically.

"Right you are! I forgot she's never been here before! I'll let you handle this."

You noted the sound of scraping footsteps as they hurried out of the room, but you were still too busy looking up in bafflement at Shuichi. He was not looking at you at the moment...probably because he was watching the...ogre...leave the room. His eyes, though they were not trained on you, were pensive and gentle.

"I am terribly sorry about that," he said looking down at you again, "I did warn them you had next to no experience with the supernatural...but ogres have a tendency to forget things like that when they are over-eager."

"Oh..." you said dumbly, staring at him. His body shook slightly as he chuckled a little in amusement.

He fell silent, as though he expected you to say something...but you had no idea what to say. Your mind was flooded with questions. Why were you on the floor? Where were you? What happened in the alleyway?...Wait! The alleyway!

You gasped, and tried to sit up, nearly bumping your head on Shuichi's in the process, "That wolf creature! And then the light! And my dad! You and that whip! What...argh!"

You bunched up as pain threatened to rip your insides out. Shuichi was making shushing noises and gathered you protectively in his arms.

*What is this?* you wondered.

Shuichi had held you several times before, but this was different. Before he held you rigidly, reluctantly, when you refused his help. Right now his grip was relaxed...and he was drawing you inward so that your head rested on his chiseled chest. Heat rose to your cheeks. You steadied your breathing and willed the redness to fade before Shuichi noticed.

*What is this?* you asked yourself again.

"I am sorry for the pain you are in. You really should not move so suddenly since your wounds are not completely healed," said Shuichi.

"You are doing it again," you said softly.

Shuichi shifted your position so he could look at your face, "What?"

You sat up slowly with gritted teeth against the accompanying pain, and pushed him back gently. He did not resist and let his arms fall to his sides.

You shook your head and sighed, "You are helping me again. I do not understand it, Shuichi. I just don't. I insult you, and you help me. I push you away, and you come back. I try to run away and you find me. Even when I managed to disappear completely you would not leave me alone...why? Why do you put yourself through this?"

Shuichi cocked an eyebrow, "Why indeed... Perhaps one day I will tell you," you opened your mouth to protest as frustration welled up inside you, but he cut you off, "I _will_ tell you...but some other time," he said firmly, "on a day when you are not so injured, and when there are not more pressing matters at hand."

"Pressing..."

"Yes. Can you stand?" he asked.

"Uh..." You looked down at your legs as they peeked under a light blue hospital gown.

Shuichi chuckled again, "Here, let me help you."

Awkwardly you braced yourself against his forearms as he lifted you to a standing position, 'Thanks..." you muttered, not willing to meet his gaze again.

"Will you need help getting dressed?" he asked mildly.

"What?" you asked sharply, looking up.

Shuichi put his hands up, "No, no...not from me. Trust me, I would never put you in an uncomfortable position like that...I could get one of the nurse-ogres to help. They're women, you see..."

"No!" you shouted, then crossed your arms in front of yourself, "I mean, no thank you. If I am strong enough to stand, I am strong enough to take care of myself."

He smiled, "That's what I thought. There is a bathroom behind that door over there. You should find everything you need to make yourself presentable."

"Right..." you said glancing in the direction he gestured. You were about to go past him when you stopped, "Wait a second... You aren't going to stop me from taking care of myself?"

Shuichi shook his head and put a reassuring hand on your shoulder, "I think you will find you healed much faster this time around."

You just stared at him as he removed his hand and started walking towards the door. Suddenly, you gasped, reaching for the shoulder Shuichi had touched. It was the left one! The one that had been shot! It did not hurt!

Shuichi did not even glance behind as he continued out your door, "I'll be back in a couple of hours to retrieve you."

The door closed behind him with a soft click. The moment it shut, you wobbled into the bathroom, using the bed and wall for support. Once there, you took the hospital gown off as quickly as you dared and looked down at where your injuries should be. They were still there, but there was a healthy layer of pink skin where deep gouges used to be. You traced the three long scars across your abdomen in wonder.

"Just how long was I unconscious?" you muttered to yourself. You shook yourself mentally, and looked around the small enclosure.

Some clothes were laid out for you on a shelf along with the toiletries you would need to get yourself cleaned. You groaned. They had laid out a kimono. You hated those things! It was a blue with a red and gold sash. Of course, there were flowers all over it.

*Gah! Flowers belong on trees or in vases! Not on clothing!* you thought in annoyance.

You did not have much choice though, unless you wanted to walk around in a hospital gown. You took a long, hot shower, carefully balancing your weight so you would not fall.

The most difficult part of the ordeal was putting on the blasted kimono with limited mobility. Your wounds might be mostly healed, but they were still painful. Putting on your tabi and sandals just about killed you. It was tempting to lay back down for a moment to allow the pain to subside, but you did not want to be stuck in a position that would require someone to assist you back to a standing position. You opted to lean against the wall as you waited for Shuichi's return.

Now that you were all put together...so to speak...your mind wandered back to some of the questions that pressed on your mind when you first woke up. Where exactly were you? You frowned. You couldn't be in a hospital. This place was much too quiet, and lacked medical equipment. Your room looked more like a hotel room than a hospital room, and then there was that...ogre...thing... Also, how long had you been here? Considering how much your injuries healed, your initial estimate was four to six weeks...but that could not be right. Shuichi's words troubled you.

_"I think you will find you healed much faster this time around."_

After several minutes of careful contemplation, a knock came to the door.

"Come in!" you called.

Shuichi came through the door tentatively. He looked different than he did two hours ago. Before he wore a simple tee shirt and jeans. Now, He wore a black, formal, Chinese warrior's uniform with gold trim. It was sleeveless, and small golden designs were expertly woven into the fabric on the shoulder.

*Wow...* you thought blinking. You had to work hard not to stare. You knew he was strong, but this outfit definitely displayed his masculinity to the fullest. *Cut it out, Sayuri! You are acting like one of those dumb girls that swoon over him at school!*

"Wow," he said, "I was not expecting you to still be on your feet. Are you..."

You raised an eyebrow, "I'm perfectly fine."

"That's good to hear," he said formally.

An awkward silence settled between the two of you. You looked down at the tile floor, and traced the design with your eyes.

*Stop it Sayuri! Stop it!* you berated yourself, *He is not acting any differently than normal, so you shouldn't either!*

He cleared his throat interrupting your train of thought, "I am supposed to bring you to Lord Koenma's office. He wishes to speak to you, and answer your questions. You must have a lot. I know I would."

That was just the opening you were hoping for, "Where am I? Shuichi, this is the weirdest hospital I have ever been in! I…"

"You aren't in a hospital."

You blinked in surprise, "What?"

Shuichi sighed, "Come on. I'll bring you to Lord Koenma."

Your brow furrowed, "Who is Koenma?"

"Koenma is the leader of the Spirit World. That is where we are now."

"Then I am dead?" you asked in alarm.

He put his hands up, "No, no. You are quite alive, trust me. You would not still be in pain if you were dead."

"Then what am I doing here?"

"Lord Koenma will be explaining this in more detail, but in a nutshell, you are here because of what happened in that alleyway."

"What exactly did happen?"

"Like I said, Koenma wanted to be the one to explain things."

You almost protested, but stopped yourself and nodded. A few more moments of waiting would not kill you.

As Shuichi and you walked through the labyrinth of hallways and stairwells, you listened to the sound of your footsteps echoing. Shuichi kept his gaze fixed ahead, not saying anything, so in an attempt to appear indifferent to the situation, you acted very interested in the intricate tile-work as you walked. Every once in a while another creature similar to the blue monster from earlier rushed by. Some had stacks of paper in hand, while others simply looked busy.

"Could I at least ask what those creatures are?" you mumbled, glancing sideways at Shuichi.

He replied, "They are ogres. They work for Lord Koenma."

"Ogres, huh? So there are more of them..."

Shuichi nodded, "Koenma's office is just at the end of this hallway."

When you made it to Koenma's office, Kurama stopped you from knocking, and you looked at him in surprise.

"Shuichi, what's wrong?"

He was slightly white, but he spoke firmly, "I just wanted to tell you, that no matter how you feel after you leave that room…just understand that what you are about to hear…"

You grimaced slightly, "I am very used to receiving shocking information. Don't worry. I'll be fine." *At least I hope so...* you thought.

He nodded uncertainly, sighed, and knocked.

*It must be serious if Shuichi is lost for words. I don't think I've ever seen him this nervous.* you thought.

Both of you waited several seconds before the door swung open to reveal an expansive, brightly colored office, and in the center of it there was a large desk, and on that desk-much to your surprise-was a toddler with a blue binky in his mouth.

As both of you entered the room, you raised an eyebrow in amusement, "What's with the kid?"

The child on the desk cleared his throat in a miffed sort of way and said in a tone of superiority, "Before we get down to business, it would probably be prudent of me to introduce myself. I am Koenma, the leader of the Spirit World, and you are Sayuri Takahashi."

You stared at the toddler in amazement as he spoke, and then looked at Shuichi who was smiling faintly. I guess I cannot assume anything here...* you thought. Clearly this baby was much older and much more experienced than he looked. You looked at him shrewdly, adding him to your list of oddities that were now part of reality. A wolf monster, ogres, shooting light, and now talking toddlers.

*What's next?* you wondered.

"Now then… There is much to tell you so you might as well sit down," he said indicating to the two chairs that stood in front of his desk.

Koenma moved behind his desk as you and Shuichi moved to the seats he motioned to. It took a moment to lower yourself into the chair, but thankfully the toddler waited until you found a semi-comfortable position.

He sighed heavily and began, "I would have liked it much better if we could have postponed this conversation, or at least that there was a way to make everything that you are about to be told an easier burden for you to bear, but I am afraid that it is impossible."

He paused looking pointedly at you. This caused your nerves to jump in involuntary nervousness, though you didn't betray that fact to him.

He continued after you didn't say anything, "We might as well get the worst bit out of the way. Your father is dead."

You stared at him blankly, "Dead?"

He nodded solemnly, "The authorities found him shot in the head at an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of your hometown."

Your mind was reeling and you did not know what to feel. Visions of your Father beating you, calling you unspeakable names, and hating you gave you every reason to be happy about his sudden departure from your life. And yet...He was your father. Who would mourn his death if you did not?

Clearing his throat, Koenma continued, "Naturally, since you are eighteen and his only living relative, you will inherit everything of his. That isn't any of my business, so you will just have to sort the whole thing out. I'm sorry if I sound insensitive… I am just no good at this sort of thing…" He trailed off, and searched your face. You merely nodded in understanding.

You stared blankly ahead, trying to process the information. How were you supposed to deal with this? You fully expected having to deal with your father upon your return. You even accepted that you might have to run away to escape his impending wrath...and now you had to plan a funeral.

"Well, now that that is out of the way…I'm going to go over some things with you that you will need to know in light of your situation, starting with where we are right now," said Koenma abruptly changing the subject.

*He doesn't waste time, does he?* you thought ironically, still preoccupied with the news of your father's death, *Wait...situation?* You forced yourself back into the here and now looking at the tiny ruler stoically, "Shuichi said that we are in the Spirit World."

Koenma nodded, "This is true."

"But _where_ are we? I thought only dead people came here."

"Let me explain. Have you ever seen a reversible jacket?"

Where was he going with this?

"Yes… One side is usually a different design from the other."

"Exactly. This is not an exact comparison, mind you, but imagine the living world is like one side of a reversible jacket, and the Spirit World is the other. You cannot see one side if you are on the other…it is sort of like both are on a different dimension."

"So I'm on the other side of the jacket?"

"So to speak."

"Then is it possible to travel from one side to the other whether you are dead or not?"

Koenma nodded, "A good example of that would be the demons that attacked you a few days ago. Typically demons do not belong in your world. They live in the deeper reaches of the Spirit World, often referred to as the Makai. Using the analogy of the jacket again, imagine a rip happening in the fabric."

"That would make it so you could see from one side to the other right?"

"More than that, it makes it so that one could travel between the two worlds unhindered. Most demons have obeyed the laws of their king and do not bother humans, but there are some that do not obey their king's command."

Your brow furrowed, "So that wolf creature that attacked me was a demon?"

"Actually all of them were."

"But they looked normal."

"Do not be deceived by appearances. That wolf demon looked normal enough before he transformed didn't he?"

"Well, yes," you conceded

"Demons are not easily detected by humans for this reason. Many can take on human form and blend in easily. As you can imagine that makes life difficult for everyone. On the one hand, we in the Spirit World are trying to protect humans from these malevolent creatures, and on the other, humans simply do not know what to look for."

"I can see how this would be a problem," you said rubbing your recently healed shoulder in remembrance.

"Those demons that attacked you had gotten through such a breach near where you were in the city," Koenma shrugged his little shoulders, "You just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"Aren't I lucky," you mumbled sarcastically.

He continued as though he had not heard your comment, "I must tell you how impressed I am that you managed to hold as many of them off as you did. Not many people are able to do that."

"It's not that impressive," you said crossing your arms, "They seemed like regular thugs to me so I was just handling them the way I usually do."

"No trust me, it is a much bigger deal than you think it is. Some of my best agents would not have been able to handle that many single handed like you did."

"It was not exactly single handed, sir," you said glancing over at Shuichi.

"I am glad that you mentioned that!" said Koenma snapping his fingers together, "Your friend, 'Shuichi' as you know him, is a lot more than what he lets on as well," Koenma turned to Shuichi and said, "It's time to tell her, Kurama."

***sigh* This marks the half way point of Lord Koenma's visit. That toddler sure does love to talk. Personally, I think he takes pride in knowing just about everything. LOL**


	8. Unknown Identity

**Funny story...I received awesome inspiration for what will happen later in the story...and had massive writer's block for the portion I was supposed to write. Oh the irony! The good news is I eventually overcame the writer's block and you will also get killer romantic chapters later on. :3 Just thinking about it makes me giggle inside.**

**Remember!**

**"talking"**

***thinking***

**Disclaimer: The plot-line is mine! All mine!...but nothing else is. Rats...**

~Sayuri's POV~

"You're a demon?" you deadpanned.

Shuichi...now Kurama nodded, "I am a fox demon. That is how I was able to help you the way I did in the alley."

You nodded numbly. You had known that he had been keeping things from you, but you had no idea just how much and how monumental. You scanned his face. He looked sincere and even earnest as he waited for you to respond to this latest piece of news.

You were sure that he was telling you the truth. You were just not sure he was telling you the whole story. You had a feeling that you might never learn everything there was to know about him. Actually, you could understand why he kept this little tidbit from you in the first place. It was very sensitive information. Still, his deceit hurt. You never did like lies. Your whole life you had been forced to live a lie and you hated it.

You looked away from Kurama. You couldn't speak to him right now, so you addressed Koenma, "Why are you telling me all this? I mean, I'm grateful to know what happened to me in the alley, but why go to all this trouble if it is such a big secret? Wouldn't it have been easier to just let me die?"

Koenma sniffed in annoyance, "Don't get ahead of me, and don't be so morose. Anyway...Thus far we have only discussed the situation you found yourself in, and not you personally. You needed to have a solid grasp on that before I disclose the most important information of all. Now, I do not know what you were doing in such a questionable part of town, nor do I care. It is not important to the matter at hand. However, what happened to you during that fight, particularly when you used Spirit Energy, is my business."

You interrupted him, curiosity getting the better of you, "Is that what that blue light that shot out of my hands was?" You stared down at your hands, turning them over.

"Yes, and in such a vast quantity that for a normal human being, which we previously assumed you were, it should have been impossible. It was so powerful, that many of the spiritually aware could feel its impact as far as the outskirts of the city."

You felt your mouth go dry, "But that's impossible! I can't be a… I'm not…" You couldn't bring yourself to finish.

"You aren't human," Kurama finished quietly.

Of everything you had been told in this room so far, this piece of news affected you the most. You felt detached, out of place, like you didn't belong in your own skin. You suddenly felt like a complete stranger to yourself, and it took every ounce of self control not to run from the room. You settled for digging your fingernails in the soft wood of the chair.

Koenma continued after a moment, "I did some research on your parents, which was no mean feat! I had to do a lot of digging to find what little I did."

"I'm a demon too, aren't I?" You said grimly.

He shook his head, "That is only partially correct. You are what we refer to as a Hanshoku, a true half breed. The only thing that would be similar to your case would be the Mazukon. The difference is that Mazukon start out as human, but because of a demon ancestor they are able to transform into a demon when they die if they are strong enough to make the transformation. You will get to meet one such person shortly…"

Kurama cleared his throat, "Sir…"

"Don't interrupt me Kurama, I'm on a roll here! Where was I? … Ah yes! Hanshoku, on the other hand inherit demonic qualities directly from their parent. In your case father was a human, but your mother was a fox demon, a blue fox demon to be precise. Believe me; I was just as surprised as you are when I found out. Blue fox demons are extremely rare and oftentimes very powerful, which would explain why you were able to generate such a tremendous blast after being weakened the way you were. You've got excellent genes. I assume the reason that the blast took the form of Spirit Energy and not Demon Energy is because you are currently in a human form. It is rare that a phenomenon like this would occur. Most children born of multiple races do not gain the spiritual strength that you have."

"Then there is a possibility that I will end up looking like that wolf demon?" you asked as your stomach did a nervous flip. You did not want to be like that horrible creature. You glanced at Shui..._Kurama_ again. Then again, he wasn't like that...as far as you knew.

He shrugged, "I do not think so. First off, there are many species of demons, and not all are as rabid and bloodthirsty as the ones you encountered. As a matter of fact, you would need to train to be able to transform into a demon. Remember it is our choices that define a person, not their blood."

You released your vice-like grip on the chair and took a deep breath. So you would not spontaneously turn into some monster. You weren't even sure you wanted to train to do so either. You put your head in your hands, ignoring the slivers of pain your old injuries gave.

*Ugh...I cannot think straight,* you thought in frustration, and then stopped, *Wait...*

Koenma was the leader of the Spirit World. He was supposed to be the one to keep tabs on every living creature on the earth, and since your mother lived on earth at one point... He should know. He _had_ to know!

*Perhaps it really is my fault she is gone. All the same, if Koenma knows anything about her, this is my chance to ask,* you realized.

"Koenma, sir, could I speak with you privately for a moment," you mumbled with your head still in your hands.

Koenma cleared his throat, "Certainly Sayuri. Kurama, I need you to go get the others. Just wait outside the door with them until I let you in."

You looked up, cautiously glancing back and forth between the toddler and Kurama. They both gave you a curious, measuring look, and Kurama seemed hesitant to leave, but he finally stood and did as he was told.

When the door clicked shut, Koenma turned to you without preamble, "What is it?"

You sighed wearily, and slumped further down in your chair, "Sir, my question for you is private and personal in nature, and I would appreciate it if you didn't discuss this with anyone."

Koenma nodded, "Go on."

You looked up at him intently, "My mother disappeared when I was five years old. I was too young to remember what happened, and no one would tell me..., and…" an exasperated sound escaped your throat and you had to pause to gain control of yourself. Koenma waited patiently for you to finish, "You are the leader of the Spirit World…What happened to her?" you asked softly.

Koenma sighed and shook his head, "I was afraid you would ask. The truth is, I don't know much myself."

You leaned forward earnestly despite the pain, "Please. Anything you can tell me will be helpful."

There was a brief silence before the toddler answered you, "She went missing, as you said, about thirteen years ago. The most I know is that it happened without warning. One day she was living on earth, and the next she was gone. No one knows exactly what happened to this day."

"What was her name?" you asked quickly.

Koenma blinked, "Keya...her name was Keya."

"What was she like?" you asked again, not missing a beat.

"Well...I don't really know for sure. No one does. She was a mercenary in the Makai before she married your father. She was a fighter with an incredible reputation, but I get the feeling that is not what you were looking for."

"So you don't know how or why she left?" your voice cracked.

"I am sorry, no."

A tear slid down your cheek. You had so many questions...

*It doesn't sound like he knows what I want to hear either,* you thought despondently. Still, you knew more than you had your entire life, and you could finally put a name to her besides Mom. *I will find you, Mom,* your resolve hardened, and your face again assumed a rigidly emotionless mask. You were uncomfortably aware of Koenma's penetrating gaze on you, so you cleared your throat to speak.

"I…" you began, "Thank you," you said simply.

There was a short awkward silence before Koenma asked, "Is there anything you need to tell me? I am not a fool. I know something is weighing on your mind. Considering your history..."

*Oh gods no!* you felt familiar panic scrape your insides.

"How much do you know?" you asked.

He stared hard at you for a moment,"I know about your former occupation, and that your father was not the best roll model in the world. I do not think I need to go into detail."

You gave a hollow laugh, "And yet I am still alive. Do you know how many people I have killed? Do you know how many have suffered at my hands?"

"Don't confuse the issue," said Koenma, waving a hand in front of his face, "You are not held accountable for following the orders of your superiors. Especially considering your circumstances."

"Do not tell anyone about my past," you said so low your voice was almost a whisper.

"I did not intend to."

You nodded, "Good. No one needs to know."

He jumped onto his desk once more, "If there is nothing else, we need to discuss the matter of your new training."

You looked at him sharply, "What new training?"

Koenma nodded, "You need to be trained not to misuse your new-found power, inadvertently or otherwise. Under normal circumstances- in other words, if you weren't so powerful- I wouldn't worry about serious training unless you desired it, but since you are I have no choice. It will be next to impossible to harness such a vast quantity of Spirit Energy without some guidance. Late though your potential is in manifesting itself, it does not make the danger any less real."

You interrupted him, "I doubt I am that dangerous, Koenma. I feel no different than I used to before I ran into those demons."

He smiled, "Allow me to explain further. The fact that you involuntarily drew on your spirit energy means that you acted on instinct, and it will happen again if you are not trained. It would not be pleasant, or voluntary. With your lack of control you could easily injure yourself, especially if the energy blast backfires, or you could use up so much energy that you accidentally kill yourself from overdraw. That was what nearly did you in when you fought the wolf demon in the alleyway. You were so fatigued physically, emotionally, and spiritually that if you were not cared for straight away by Kurama, you would not be here."

"So he saved me," you stated, mentally adding, *again...*

Considering Kurama's irrational habit of hovering over you like a human shield, you weren't terribly surprised. And yet... Now that you knew generally what he was, you were more confused as to why he did it. You were human...sort of... The difference in your origins only served to widen the gap between the two of you, at least as far as you were concerned.

A rebellious part of your brain still fought with your rational saying things like, *I don't care!* and *Why should this come between us!* and *He's the first friend I ever had!*

Not noticing your inner turmoil, Koenma continued, "Yes. To answer the rest of your argument, the reason you do not feel anything unusual now is because you used up so much Spirit Energy that I would be very surprised if you could even make a finger glow for at least a month."

Your brow furrowed, "So…this training…What exactly will it entail?"

"I am glad you asked. Part of it will depend on you."

"Me?"

"Yes. You may decide that you want nothing to do with everything that you have been informed of today. In which case, you will only be taught to harness and suppress your spirit energy, and in the end you will be able to go back to earth and live a normal life. On the other hand, if you decide to delve more into your new abilities, a much longer, more in depth training program would be in order."

You nodded. That made sense.

He continued, "You do not have to decide right away. You will be given a full month of leave to set your affairs in order. I'll expect you back with your answer by then. You can finish off school, and handle the paperwork and politics that come with a death in the family as well. I will send someone to fetch you, so you needn't worry about how to get back."

A thought came to you, "Sir, how will I explain my absence from school?"

"Explanations of your absence have already been taken care of. If anyone asks, you were in the hospital because your appendix burst."

"That reminds me," you said, "How long have I been gone? I meant to ask Kurama, but I forgot."

"You were unconscious for two weeks," said Lord Koenma, "We had to keep you under that long to let our healers work on you undisturbed."

*Two weeks!* you thought, *It's a good thing I don't have to face my father. He would have killed me!*

As it was, you were not looking forward to the mound of homework that waited for you when you got back. You had half a mind to tell Koenma you needed more than just a month so you would be able to get sleep after you graduated in the next couple of weeks.

"Do you have any other questions for me?" asked the toddler.

"No," you answered.

"All right then. I want you to meet the ones who will be training you in the coming weeks."

~Kurama's POV~

Yusuke, Kuwabara, Hiei and Boton waited with you outside Koenma's office in relative silence. You had just gotten done explaining to them what was going on with Sayuri.

Yusuke was the first to break the silence, "So does this mean Koenma has found himself a new Spirit Detective?"

"We don't know that for sure, Yusuke," said Boton, "It depends on her."

"Hey!" said Yusuke indignantly, "Why does she get a choice?"

Boton sniffed haughtily, "Use your head, Yusuke. It would not be fair to force a lady into that kind of position."

Yusuke rolled his eyes, "You say that like Koenma is some sort of gentleman."

"Well, he certainly has better manners than you, and by the way, you did volunteer. It is not our fault you had to be poked and prodded every step of the way."

"You did not have to poke and prod me..." started Yusuke.

"Are you forgetting that Toguro had to kill Genkai and pretend to kill that useless lump over there to get you to rise to your potential?" said Hiei gesturing to Kuwabara.

"Watch it runt!" said Kuwabara.

"You call that poking and prodding?" said Yusuke sarcastically.

You finally interrupted to change the subject, "Well, if Sayuri does decide to work for Lord Koenma, she has an excellent head start. She is already several times stronger than Yusuke was when he started out."

"I don't get it. How can she be so powerful so fast? It took us ages to get to where we are now," said Kuwabara.

"Hn. Speak for yourself. Not all of us are as inept as you," Hiei quipped.

"Why you little twerp!" Kuwabara yelled.

"If the truth hurts…" Hiei smirked.

"That's it! Just you wait till we get out of Spirit World! You are so dead, Hiei!"

"Boys! Show some shred of decency would you?" Boton interjected swinging her oar at Kuwabara's head. He ducked just in time.

As your friends continued their banter you could not help but smile in amusement, *They are hopeless...* Everyone was older, certainly, but some things really never changed. It seemed like only yesterday that you had met one another. At the time, the thought that any of you could be friends was absurd, considering your differences.

"I wonder if Sayuri is like my cousin or something… I mean, we both have demon blood," Yusuke mused aloud.

You chuckled, "I doubt it Yusuke. You got your demon blood from Raizen. He was not related to any fox demons, and before you can ask, no she is not related to me either."

"I bet she looks pretty in her demon form," said Boton dreamily.

"You never know," shrugged Yusuke, "She might get crazy rock band hair and tattoos like I do."

"Nah," said Kuwabara, "I agree with Boton."

You did not like where the conversation was going. Already your mind dredged up old images of Sayuri's mother, Keya. She was a beautiful vixen, and Youko had taken an interest in her at one point. Considering how lovely Sayuri was in human form you could only imagine what she would be like as a demon. She would likely have silky blue hair like her mother...and a long, lithe form...

You shook yourself. How did you start thinking like that?

"We have no way of knowing what she will look like until she actually transforms," you interjected as your friends continued to argue about it.

"Come on. Aren't all fox demons pretty like you?" sniggered Kuwabara.

You cleared your throat, "Not every fox demon is 'pretty', as you put it. There are varying degrees of attractiveness in demons as well as in humans."

"I wonder how much longer this is going to take,"said Boton suddenly, tapping her finger on her chin, "Not that I mind speculating over Sayuri's demonic appearance, but I do have souls to ferry from human world."

As if on cue, the giant doors to Koenma's office swung open and the leader of the Spirit World called over from his desk, "You can come in now."

Boton blinked, "Well, that was fast."

"Ask and you shall receive," you said walking past her.

As the five of you walked in Sayuri turned and her eyes grew wide, "You're the ones Koenma has working for him?"

Yusuke grinned, "Yep. Betcha weren't expecting that."

Kuwabara flushed, "Hi Sayuri. Did you miss me? Heh heh…"

Sayuri merely stared.

Yusuke nudged Hiei, "Aren't you going to say hi?"

"Hn," Hiei looked at Yusuke, "It was not my idea to be part of a welcoming committee."

Boton flashed one of her brilliant smiles and flounced over to her, "Hello Sayuri! I am Boton! Kurama here has told me so much about you! I feel as though we are friends already!"

~Sayuri's POV~

When Boton came over and introduced herself to you almost felt your eye twitch. She was one of those annoyingly perky people that you went out of your way to avoid.

*And what is with her hair?* you wondered, staring at the long, sky blue locks.

"Who are you exactly?" you asked, annoyed.

"Oh, I'm the pilot of the river Styx. You know… the grim reaper,"she said brightly.

"You go and collect the souls of the dead?"

She smiled broadly, "Bingo!"

*Wow...* you thought, *Suddenly death seems more like a nightmare than it did before. Wait a moment...*

Looking at Boton in her bright pink kimono, it suddenly dawned on you where the get up you were wearing came from, "Would this kimono happen to belong to you?" you asked gesturing to the outfit.

"Why yes. I knew you would not have any clothes when you woke up so I donated mine since we are about the same size. Kurama said you would like that one better than one of my pink ones."

You fought to keep from shuddering, "Thanks…" you mumbled. Kurama was right in assuming you would rather be shot than wear pink. You were not a fan of overly girly things.

Koenma spoke up, "I am glad to see that all of you have met before. This makes things easier for me, but let me fill you in a little better on their identities. Kurama you know is a demon, but so is Hiei. Yusuke is the Mazukon I told you about, and Kuwabara is a human with heightened spirit awareness."

Looking at Hiei you had no trouble seeing him as a demon. His demeanor was off to you when you first met him. Yusuke and Kuwabara seemed more human, though at closer inspection you did feel a different...aura? Was that the right word?...around Yusuke.

You quirked an eyebrow, "And Boton?"

"Suffice it to say she is neither demon, nor human, but that is not important. She will not take part in your training. Do you have any other questions?"

*Huh...I guess grim reapers fall into their own category,* you thought.

You frowned, "Only the ones you have given me to consider when I leave here."

"Excellent. I will not keep you here any longer. I have much to discuss with your trainers that you need not be present for... Boton, would you open a portal and take Sayuri back to her home in the living world?"

"Certainly Lord Koenma!"

You jumped a little when a swirling black hole appeared in the wall behind Koenma's desk, "Where will that take me?"

"This portal will take you to the front door of your house in the living world. As I said before you will have four weeks to put your affairs in order and let me know your decision regarding your training."

You bit your lip and looked around the room at everyone. Yusuke and Kuwabara were grinning at you, Hiei was looking indifferently out the open door, Boton was waiting expectantly with Lord Koenma for your response, and Kurama… he was difficult to read. His red hair had fallen in front of his face and his hands were folded across his chest. You half wanted to close the distance between the two of you and tell him that everything was alright, that none of this information changed anything, that you still wanted to be friends…but you could not bring yourself to do that. You would be lying to yourself and to everyone in this room.

"I need all of you to give me space," you said slowly. Yusuke and Kuwabara immediately sobered up. All eyes were on you. "It is not like I will never see you again," you looked back at Kurama who had not moved, "I just need the time that Koenma has given me to think things through."

"Sounds fair to me," said Yusuke shrugging.

"So you don't want us to talk to you at all?" Kuwabara in a hurt voice.

"Just for a month," you said, "Then we can...talk if that is what you want."

Silence filled the room, and you stood, "Boton? I'll be giving your kimono back the next time I see you."

"No problem at all,"she said waving her hands dismissively.

You were not sure what else to say so you strode over to the portal behind the desk and only paused for a moment before closing your eyes and going through it. The moment you opened them you were looking at the mahogany door in front of your house. You spun back around to see if the portal was still there, but it was gone.

**Having just watched Yu Yu Hakusho again, I had to include a section of pointless banter between the characters. The way they interact with one another is so frickin hilarious sometimes, and I could not help myself.**


End file.
